Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 20
रत्नेश्वरे सहस्रं तु ऋषीणामूर्द्ध्वरेतसाम् । अर्कस्थले महापुण्ये कोटिः साग्रा स्थिता शुभे
ratneśvare sahasraṃ tu ṛṣīṇāmūrddhvaretasām | arkasthale mahāpuṇye koṭiḥ sāgrā sthitā śubhe
രത്നേശ്വരത്തിൽ ഊർദ്ധ്വരേതസ്സായ ഋഷിമാരുടെ ഒരു സഹസ്രം വസിക്കുന്നു; മഹാപുണ്യമയമായ അർക്കസ്ഥലത്തിലെ ശുഭസ്ഥാനത്ത് സാഗ്ര ഒരു കോടി നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു।
Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya narrative style)
Tirtha: Ratneśvara; Arkasthala
Type: kshetra
Scene: A coastal sacred landscape dotted with liṅga-shrines—Ratneśvara and Arkasthala—where multitudes of austere sages with matted hair sit in meditation, fire-altars glowing, the sea-breeze and tīrtha-banners moving gently.
FAQs
Self-restraint and tapas flourish in sanctified landscapes; such places are revered as reservoirs of puṇya.
Ratneśvara and Arkasthala within Prabhāsakṣetra.
No explicit rite is commanded; the verse praises these sites by noting the presence of ascetic sages.