Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 70
तथा बहुतिथं कालं द्वीपोभूत्सोपि मंदरः । यियासुना च देवेन मंदरं चित्रकंदरम्
tathā bahutithaṃ kālaṃ dvīpobhūtsopi maṃdaraḥ | yiyāsunā ca devena maṃdaraṃ citrakaṃdaram
ഇങ്ങനെ അതിദീർഘകാലം ആ മന്ദരവും ദ്വീപുപോലെ ആയിരുന്നു. പുറപ്പെടുവാൻ ആഗ്രഹിച്ച ദേവൻ വിചിത്രഗുഹകളാൽ സമ്പന്നമായ മന്ദരത്തെ ദർശിച്ച് അതിലേക്കു നീങ്ങി.
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Type: peak
Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly (typical frame; not stated in verse)
Scene: A vast mountain with painted, ‘wondrous’ caverns; the Deva poised to depart, looking toward Mandara as if it were an island amid cosmic waters.
FAQs
Holy landscapes can be portrayed as wondrous and set apart from ordinary space, inviting reverence and pilgrimage-mindedness.
Mandara, described as dvīpa-like and possessing marvelous caverns.
No ritual instruction appears; the verse continues the māhātmya-style description of the sacred locale.