Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 163
एवं भरतखंडेऽस्मिन्षण्णवत्येव कोटयः । द्वासप्ततिस्तथा लक्षाः पत्तनानां प्रकीर्तिताः
evaṃ bharatakhaṃḍe'sminṣaṇṇavatyeva koṭayaḥ | dvāsaptatistathā lakṣāḥ pattanānāṃ prakīrtitāḥ
ดังนี้ ในภารตขันฑะนี้กล่าวว่ามีเก้าสิบหกล้านโกฏิแห่งถิ่นฐาน/เขตศักดิ์สิทธิ์ และยังมีเมืองท่าหรือมหานครเจ็ดสิบสองแสน—ดังประกาศในคติสืบมา
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Bhārata-khaṇḍa (as dharma-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A vast aerial vision of Bhārata filled with countless towns like lamps; a narrator proclaims the numbers as the land glows with sacred density.
FAQs
Dharma is mapped onto geography: Bhārata is portrayed as a vast sacred field where countless places can become sources of puṇya through devotion and right conduct.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it sets a grand geographic frame that supports the later praise of Kumārikā-kṣetra and Kumārīśvara.
None directly; the verse functions as a mahātmya-style enumeration to emphasize the sacred landscape.