Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3
सूत उवाच । समुद्रस्यापि पारोऽत्र लक्ष्यते च क्षितेरपि । तारकाणां मुनेस्तस्य न गुणानां द्विजोत्तमाः
sūta uvāca | samudrasyāpi pāro'tra lakṣyate ca kṣiterapi | tārakāṇāṃ munestasya na guṇānāṃ dvijottamāḥ
สูตกล่าวว่า “โอ้ท่านผู้ประเสริฐในหมู่ทวิชะ ณ ที่นี้แม้ฝั่งไกลแห่งมหาสมุทรและขอบเขตแห่งแผ่นดินก็พอแลเห็นได้ แต่คุณธรรมของมุนีผู้นั้น—สูงยิ่งกว่าดวงดาว—หาอาจประมาณมิได้”
Sūta
Tirtha: Viśvāmitrīya (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: dvijottamāḥ
Scene: Sūta gestures toward the sea-horizon while addressing brāhmaṇas, contrasting measurable shores with immeasurable sage-virtues; stars shimmer as a metaphor.
FAQs
Worldly measures have limits, but the dharmic virtues of a realized sage are immeasurable and worthy of reverence.
The verse introduces the māhātmya of a tīrtha associated with the great sage of Gādhi’s line (contextually Viśvāmitra), whose sanctity is elaborated in the following verses.
No specific rite is stated here; it functions as a praise-introduction to the tīrtha’s greatness.