Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54
ऋषय ऊचुः । शुक्लतीर्थं कथं जातं तत्र त्वं सूतनंदन । विस्तरेण समाचक्ष्व परं कौतूहलं हि नः
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | śuklatīrthaṃ kathaṃ jātaṃ tatra tvaṃ sūtanaṃdana | vistareṇa samācakṣva paraṃ kautūhalaṃ hi naḥ
ഋഷിമാർ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ സൂതനന്ദന, അവിടെ ശുക്ലതീർത്ഥം എങ്ങനെ ഉദ്ഭവിച്ചു? ഞങ്ങൾക്ക് മഹത്തായ കൗതുകമുണ്ട്; വിശദമായി പറയുക।
Ṛṣis (Sages)
Tirtha: Śuklatīrtha
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūtanandana (son of Sūta)
Scene: A circle of sages seated in a forest hermitage, addressing Sūta’s son with folded hands; the tīrtha’s bright waters hinted in the distance; the moment of inquiry before the origin story unfolds.
FAQs
Sacred geography is preserved through attentive questioning and faithful transmission of tīrtha-origins (māhātmya).
Śuklatīrtha, whose origin the sages request Sūta to narrate.
None explicitly; the verse introduces an inquiry into the tīrtha’s origin.