Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22
सूत उवाच । तच्छ्रुत्वा भगवान्विष्णुः प्रोवाचाथ पुरंदरम् । चिरं मनसि निश्चित्य क्षेत्राण्यायतनानि च
sūta uvāca | tacchrutvā bhagavānviṣṇuḥ provācātha puraṃdaram | ciraṃ manasi niścitya kṣetrāṇyāyatanāni ca
സൂതൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഇതു കേട്ട ഭഗവാൻ വിഷ്ണു, തീർത്ഥക്ഷേത്രങ്ങളെയും പുണ്യധാമങ്ങളെയും മനസ്സിൽ ദീർഘമായി നിശ്ചയിച്ച് പുരന്ദരൻ (ഇന്ദ്രൻ)നോട് പറഞ്ഞു.
Sūta
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages
Scene: Sūta narrates as Viṣṇu, after inward contemplation, turns to address Indra—suggesting a calm, luminous court of devas with maps/visions of kṣetras implied.
FAQs
Sacred places are not random: kṣetras and āyatanas are divinely discerned as supports for dharma-restoring practice.
The verse introduces the selection of kṣetras/āyatanas but does not yet name the specific site.
Tapas is the implied practice; the verse sets up instructions about where it should be performed.