Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 4
स्कंद उवाच । कथं देवसरोनाम पंपा चंपा गया तथा । वाराणस्यधिका चैव कथमश्वमुखो हरिः
skaṃda uvāca | kathaṃ devasaronāma paṃpā caṃpā gayā tathā | vārāṇasyadhikā caiva kathamaśvamukho hariḥ
ஸ்கந்தன் கூறினார்—‘தேவசர’ என்ற பெயர் எவ்வாறு ஏற்பட்டது? பம்பா, சம்பா, கயா எவ்வாறு தோன்றின? இது வாராணசியையும் மிஞ்சியது என்று ஏன் சொல்லப்படுகிறது? அங்கே ஹரி ‘அஷ்வமுகன்’ எவ்வாறு ஆனார்?
Skanda
Tirtha: Devasara; Pampā; Campā; Gayā (as associated tīrthas within the Dharmāraṇya narrative)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Īśvara (Śiva)
Scene: Skanda, inquiring with reverence, asks about the origins of several tīrtha names and why the place is said to surpass even Vārāṇasī; he also asks how Hari became horse-faced there.
FAQs
Names, rankings, and divine forms at tīrthas are not arbitrary; they encode spiritual history and the dharma of place.
Dharmāraṇya and its associated tīrtha-complexes, set in comparison with Vārāṇasī.
None—this verse is a set of questions about origins and sacred status.