Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3
ऋषय ऊचुः । कस्मिन्काले विनिर्मुक्ता सा शक्तिस्तेन नो वद । किमर्थं स्वामिना तत्र किंप्रभावा वद स्वयम्
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | kasminkāle vinirmuktā sā śaktistena no vada | kimarthaṃ svāminā tatra kiṃprabhāvā vada svayam
ഋഷിമാർ പറഞ്ഞു—അവൻ ആ ശക്തി (വേൽ) ഏത് കാലത്ത് വിട്ടയച്ചു? ഞങ്ങളോട് പറയുക. അതിന്റെ സ്വാമി അതിനെ അവിടെ ഏതു ലക്ഷ്യത്തോടെ സ്ഥാപിച്ചു? അതിന്റെ പ്രഭാവം എന്ത്—നീ തന്നേ പറയുക.
Ṛṣis (Sages)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūta (implied respondent in the next verse)
Scene: A circle of ṛṣis seated in a forest āśrama, palms joined, questioning the storyteller about a radiant spear/śakti associated with a holy place; the atmosphere is anticipatory, with a subtle divine glow hinting at the weapon’s presence.
FAQs
Sacred geography is validated through origin-questions: time, purpose, and power establish why a site/object is worthy of worship.
The inquiry concerns the Śakti and its associated kuṇḍa at the tīrtha described in Adhyāya 70.
No prescription here; it initiates the explanatory narrative by asking about the Śakti’s release, purpose, and potency.