Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8
नानाविधानि शास्त्राणि स्मृतयश्च पृथग्विधाः । पुराणानि समस्तानि वीक्षध्वं सुसमाहिताः
nānāvidhāni śāstrāṇi smṛtayaśca pṛthagvidhāḥ | purāṇāni samastāni vīkṣadhvaṃ susamāhitāḥ
నానావిధ శాస్త్రాలు, భిన్నభిన్న స్మృతులు, సమస్త పురాణాలు—సంపూర్ణ ఏకాగ్రతతో—పరిశీలించండి।
Unnamed Nāgara dvija(s) (internal dialogue/counsel)
Listener: Their own council (mutual instruction) and Puṣpa (implicit beneficiary)
Scene: Scholars gather manuscripts and begin a focused review—Smṛtis and Purāṇas laid out—signaling a methodical search for the correct expiation.
FAQs
Dharma is to be ascertained through careful consultation of authoritative traditions—śāstra, smṛti, and purāṇa—rather than impulse.
The verse is procedural rather than geographical; it supports the tīrtha narrative by showing how correct expiation is determined within the sacred setting.
A prescription to consult authoritative texts; the concrete rite is introduced later.