Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 67
तीर्थानि च गुहं नाथं सम्मान्य विससर्ज सः । एवमेतत्पुरा वृत्तं गुप्तक्षेत्रस्य कारणम्
tīrthāni ca guhaṃ nāthaṃ sammānya visasarja saḥ | evametatpurā vṛttaṃ guptakṣetrasya kāraṇam
اس نے تیرتھوں اور ناتھ گُہا کی باادب تعظیم کی، پھر انہیں رخصت کیا۔ یوں قدیم زمانے میں یہ واقعہ ہوا—اور یہی ‘گپتکشیتر’ یعنی پوشیدہ مقدس میدان کہلانے کی وجہ ہے۔
Narratorial voice within Sūta’s discourse (context: Māheśvarakhaṇḍa dialogue to sages)
Tirtha: Guptakṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: After honoring the tīrthas and Guha, Brahmā performs a formal dismissal; the sacred presences subtly withdraw, leaving the landscape outwardly quiet—hence ‘hidden kṣetra’.
FAQs
A tīrtha’s name and fame arise from sacred events; honoring divinity and holy places sustains their hidden and revealed power.
Guptakṣetra is explained through its origin-cause, with Guha (Skanda) and the tīrthas central to the account.
Respectful honoring (sammāna) of the deity and tīrthas—an implicit prescription of reverence in pilgrimage practice.