Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7
ऋषय ऊचुः त्रीणि क्षेत्राणि कानीह तथारण्यानि कानि च । पुर्यस्तिस्रो महाभाग काःख्याताश्च वनानि च
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ trīṇi kṣetrāṇi kānīha tathāraṇyāni kāni ca | puryastisro mahābhāga kāḥkhyātāśca vanāni ca
ഋഷികൾ പറഞ്ഞു—ഇവിടെ മൂന്ന് ക്ഷേത്രങ്ങൾ ഏതെല്ലാം, കൂടാതെ മൂന്ന് ആരണ്യങ്ങൾ ഏതെല്ലാം? ഹേ മഹാഭാഗ, പ്രസിദ്ധമായ മൂന്ന് പുരികൾ ഏതെല്ലാം, പ്രശസ്തമായ വനങ്ങൾ ഏതെല്ലാം?
Ṛṣis (Sages)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūta (addressed indirectly as ‘mahābhāga’ in the question sequence)
Scene: A circle of sages seated in a forest hermitage, respectfully questioning the narrator about the triads of kṣetras, forests, and cities; palm-leaf manuscripts and a simple route-map lie nearby.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma preserves pilgrimage knowledge through structured inquiry—identifying kṣetras, cities, and forests as spiritual landscapes.
This verse initiates the enumeration; the specific kṣetras and āraṇyas are named in the subsequent replies (e.g., Kurukṣetra, etc.).
No direct rite is prescribed here; it is a formal question prompting the listing of sacred places for later observance (darśana, snāna, etc.).