Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3
ऋषय उचुः । एक एव स्थितः सूर्यो दृश्यते च नभस्तले । तत्कथं द्वादशैते च तत्र क्षेत्रे प्रतिष्ठिताः । कस्मिन्काले तथा कृत्ये किमर्थं सूतनन्दन
ṛṣaya ucuḥ | eka eva sthitaḥ sūryo dṛśyate ca nabhastale | tatkathaṃ dvādaśaite ca tatra kṣetre pratiṣṭhitāḥ | kasminkāle tathā kṛtye kimarthaṃ sūtanandana
ഋഷികൾ പറഞ്ഞു—ആകാശത്തിൽ സൂര്യൻ ഒരുവനായി മാത്രമേ ദൃശ്യമാകുന്നുള്ളൂ; എങ്കിൽ ആ ക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ ഈ പന്ത്രണ്ടു എങ്ങനെ പ്രതിഷ്ഠിതരായി? ഏത് കാലത്ത്, ഏത് കൃത്യത്തിൽ, എന്തിനായി, ഹേ സൂതനന്ദന?
Ṛṣis (Sages)
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (Dvādaśa-Bhāskara-pratiṣṭhā)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūta (addressed as sūtanandana)
Scene: A circle of sages questions Sūta: one Sun in the sky, yet twelve installed here—visualize the sky with a single radiant orb above, and below a mandala of twelve Sūrya icons around a central shrine.
FAQs
Purāṇic sacred geography interprets cosmic unity through multiple localized manifestations to guide worship and pilgrimage.
The inquiry concerns the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra, where twelve Bhāskara forms are said to be established.
None; it is a doctrinal and narrative question that introduces the forthcoming explanation.