Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 103
लोहाणाख्यं महाबाहो नाम केलेश्वरीति च । दुर्गमाख्यं ततो हत्वा अस्मिन्क्षेत्रे च भारत
lohāṇākhyaṃ mahābāho nāma keleśvarīti ca | durgamākhyaṃ tato hatvā asminkṣetre ca bhārata
हे महाबाहो भारत! याच पुण्यक्षेत्री ‘केलेश्वरी’ म्हणून प्रसिद्ध लोहाणा तसेच ‘दुर्गम’ नावाच्या शत्रूचा वध करून…
Devī (narrative proclamation within the Māhātmya context; exact speaker not explicit in the snippet)
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya–Mahīsāgara kṣetra (as implied)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Bhārata / Pāṇḍava addressee (as indicated)
Scene: A Devi-centered battlefield tableau within a sanctified grove/field: the Goddess’ triumph over the daityas Durgama and Lohāṇa (Keleśvarī), with the kṣetra subtly indicated by sacred trees and a nearby water expanse.
FAQs
The holiness of a kṣetra is reinforced by the deity’s protective acts—evil is subdued so dharma may flourish.
The verse situates the episode “in this kṣetra,” i.e., the Dharmāraṇya–Mahīsāgara sacred region celebrated in the chapter.
No ritual is prescribed here; it provides mythic-historical grounding for the site’s sanctity.