Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11
त्रिविधस्त्वतिथिः प्रोक्तो गृहस्थानां द्विजोत्तमाः । तस्याहं वच्मि वः कालं शृणुध्वं सुसमाहिताः
trividhastvatithiḥ prokto gṛhasthānāṃ dvijottamāḥ | tasyāhaṃ vacmi vaḥ kālaṃ śṛṇudhvaṃ susamāhitāḥ
ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമന്മാരേ! ഗൃഹസ്ഥർക്കുള്ള അതിഥി മൂന്നു തരമെന്ന് പ്രസ്താവിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു. അവരുടെ യുക്തകാലം ഞാൻ നിങ്ങളോട് പറയുന്നു—മനം ഏകാഗ്രമാക്കി കേൾക്കൂ।
Deductive (Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narration; likely Sūta speaking to sages)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Dvijoत्तamāḥ (assembled brāhmaṇas/elite twice-born)
Scene: A teacher addresses a circle of attentive brāhmaṇas, counting three types of guests on his fingers; behind him, symbolic icons of śrāddha, vaiśvadeva, and a solar-related observance indicate the forthcoming timing rules.
FAQs
Hospitality is structured by dharma: knowing the types of guests and their proper occasions preserves ritual purity and merit.
The verse is instructional; it does not name a particular tīrtha within its wording.
A classification of guests into three kinds and an instruction to observe their appropriate times (kāla).