Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 13
नंदिवर्द्धन उवाच । पापीयान्स विभो देशः फलमूलैर्विवर्जितः । पालाशैः खादिरैराढ्यो धवैः शाल्मलिभिस्तथा
naṃdivarddhana uvāca | pāpīyānsa vibho deśaḥ phalamūlairvivarjitaḥ | pālāśaiḥ khādirairāḍhyo dhavaiḥ śālmalibhistathā
นันทิวรรธนะกล่าวว่า: “ข้าแต่พระผู้เป็นเจ้า แดนนั้นหยาบกระด้างยิ่ง ไร้ทั้งผลและราก แต่กลับหนาทึบด้วยไม้ปาลาศะและคทิระ อีกทั้งมีไม้ธวะและศาลมะลีมากมาย”
Nandivarddhana
Tirtha: Arbuda (prospective kṣetra on the mountain)
Type: peak
Listener: Vasiṣṭha (and/or the addressed ‘vibho’/lordly figure in context)
Scene: Nandivardhana points out a bleak, fruitless tract: thorny dryness and scrub, yet dense stands of palāśa (flame-of-the-forest), khadira, dhava, and śālmali trees under a harsh sky.
FAQs
Purāṇic sacred geography treats terrain itself as meaningful—describing a place truthfully is part of responsibly engaging with it.
The verse contributes to the Arbuda-khaṇḍa’s portrayal of the Arbuda region; no named tīrtha appears in this line.
None.