Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 67
तीर्थानि च गुहं नाथं सम्मान्य विससर्ज सः । एवमेतत्पुरा वृत्तं गुप्तक्षेत्रस्य कारणम्
tīrthāni ca guhaṃ nāthaṃ sammānya visasarja saḥ | evametatpurā vṛttaṃ guptakṣetrasya kāraṇam
അവൻ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളെയും നാഥൻ ഗുഹനെയും (സ്കന്ദനെ) യഥാവിധി ആദരിച്ചു ശേഷം അവരെ വിടവാങ്ങിച്ചു. ഇങ്ങനെ പുരാതനകാലത്ത് സംഭവിച്ചു—ഇതാണ് ‘ഗുപ്തക്ഷേത്രം’ എന്ന പേരിന്റെ കാരണം॥
Narratorial voice within Sūta’s discourse (context: Māheśvarakhaṇḍa dialogue to sages)
Tirtha: Guptakṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: After honoring the tīrthas and Guha, Brahmā performs a formal dismissal; the sacred presences subtly withdraw, leaving the landscape outwardly quiet—hence ‘hidden kṣetra’.
FAQs
A tīrtha’s name and fame arise from sacred events; honoring divinity and holy places sustains their hidden and revealed power.
Guptakṣetra is explained through its origin-cause, with Guha (Skanda) and the tīrthas central to the account.
Respectful honoring (sammāna) of the deity and tīrthas—an implicit prescription of reverence in pilgrimage practice.