Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 1
। नारद उवाच । सहस्रसप्तत्युच्छ्राये पातालानि परस्परम् । अतलं वितलं चैव नितलं च रसातलम्
| nārada uvāca | sahasrasaptatyucchrāye pātālāni parasparam | atalaṃ vitalaṃ caiva nitalaṃ ca rasātalam
நாரதர் கூறினார்—பாதாளங்கள் ஒன்றின் கீழ் ஒன்று, ஆயிரத்து எழுபது (யோஜனை) ஆழத்தில் அமைந்துள்ளன. அவை அதலம், விதலம், நிதலம், ரசாதலம்.
Nārada
Tirtha: Atala, Vitala, Nitala, Rasātala (as Pātāla-lokas)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Kauravya (a Kuru scion; likely Janamejaya in Purāṇic dialogue conventions)
Scene: Nārada speaks, enumerating the nether worlds stacked below one another, each separated by a fixed depth; a schematic vertical cross-section accompanies the narration.
FAQs
The Purāṇa maps existence in layered realms, urging a broadened vision of creation beyond the human world.
No specific tīrtha is praised; the verse is a cosmographic listing of the nether regions.
None.