Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23
युक्तं कृतमथो नैव सावधानेन सर्वदा । लोकपालाश्च ये सर्वे रक्षंतु सकला दिशः । भूतप्रेतपिशाचानां प्रवेशं राक्षसोद्भवम्
yuktaṃ kṛtamatho naiva sāvadhānena sarvadā | lokapālāśca ye sarve rakṣaṃtu sakalā diśaḥ | bhūtapretapiśācānāṃ praveśaṃ rākṣasodbhavam
อย่าให้สิ่งใดกระทำอย่างไม่สมควร; จงระวังอยู่ทุกกาล และขอให้เหล่าโลกบาลทั้งปวงคุ้มครองทุกทิศ ป้องกันมิให้ภูต เปรต และปิศาจ—ผู้เกิดจากอำนาจรากษส—ย่างกรายเข้ามา
Brahmā (continued instruction/blessing)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A consecrated yajña enclosure at a tīrtha: priests mark the four directions; unseen bhūtas/pretas/piśācas are barred at the boundary while the Lokapālas stand guard in their quarters.
FAQs
Sacred work must be guarded by constant attentiveness; purity and protection uphold the spiritual potency of rites.
The tīrtha is portrayed as a protected sacred zone suitable for major rites; the precise place-name is not stated in this verse.
Maintain continual vigilance, invoke directional guardians (lokapālas), and bar disruptive entities (bhūta, preta, piśāca) from entering the ritual space.