Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 59
सूत उवाच । एतद्वः सर्वमाख्यातं यथा स पयसांनिधिः । अगस्त्येन पुरा पीतो देवकार्यप्रसिद्धये
sūta uvāca | etadvaḥ sarvamākhyātaṃ yathā sa payasāṃnidhiḥ | agastyena purā pīto devakāryaprasiddhaye
സൂതൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ദേവകാര്യസിദ്ധിക്കായി പുരാതനകാലത്ത് അഗസ്ത്യൻ ആ ജലനിധിയായ സമുദ്രത്തെ എങ്ങനെ പാനം ചെയ്തുവെന്നത് എല്ലാം ഞാൻ നിങ്ങളോട് പറഞ്ഞു.
Sūta
Tirtha: Pāyasāṃnidhi (Ocean as ‘reservoir of waters’)—episode reference
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and other Naimiṣāraṇya sages (implied purāṇic frame)
Scene: Sūta addressing an audience of sages, gesturing as he recounts Agastya’s astonishing act: the small-statured r̥ṣi holding a kamaṇḍalu, drinking the vast ocean as devas watch in awe; the seabed revealed with nāgas and shells.
FAQs
Great sages act for loka-saṅgraha—cosmic welfare—supporting divine order through extraordinary tapas and power.
The verse recalls Agastya’s famed ocean episode as sacred history supporting the preceding tīrtha account (Nāgara Khaṇḍa context).
None; it is a narrative recap linking Agastya’s deed to divine purpose.