Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 41
ऋषय ऊचुः । कस्मात्तस्य कृतं नाम एतच्चाऽट इति स्मृतम् । अन्वयेन परित्यक्तं तस्मात्कीर्तय सूतज
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | kasmāttasya kṛtaṃ nāma etaccā'ṭa iti smṛtam | anvayena parityaktaṃ tasmātkīrtaya sūtaja
ऋषी म्हणाले—“त्याचे हे नाव कोणत्या कारणाने ठेवले गेले, आणि तो ‘अट’ म्हणून का स्मरणात आहे? हे तर वंशपरंपरेच्या नामकरणापासून वेगळे आहे; म्हणून सांग, हे सूतपुत्रा।”
Ṛṣayaḥ (Sages)
Tirtha: Aṭeśvara (topic of inquiry)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūta (respondent)
Scene: Forest hermitage assembly: sages seated in a semicircle, hands in añjali, questioning the sūta; behind them a riverbank or grove; a small iconographic inset of Aṭeśvara to indicate the topic.
FAQs
Purāṇic teaching proceeds through inquiry: sincere questions open the way for the revelation of sacred history and dharma.
The verse is part of the lead-in to the tirtha’s legend (māhātmya); the site’s sanctity is explained through the name-story that follows.
None; it is a narrative question seeking the reason behind a name.