Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7
ऋषय ऊचुः त्रीणि क्षेत्राणि कानीह तथारण्यानि कानि च । पुर्यस्तिस्रो महाभाग काःख्याताश्च वनानि च
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ trīṇi kṣetrāṇi kānīha tathāraṇyāni kāni ca | puryastisro mahābhāga kāḥkhyātāśca vanāni ca
رشیوں نے کہا: یہاں تین مقدس کشتروں کے نام کیا ہیں، اور تین آرانْیہ (جنگلی آشرم/ون) کون سے ہیں؟ اے مہابھاگ! تین مشہور پوریاں کون سی ہیں، اور معروف ونان (جنگلات) کون سے ہیں؟
Ṛṣis (Sages)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūta (addressed indirectly as ‘mahābhāga’ in the question sequence)
Scene: A circle of sages seated in a forest hermitage, respectfully questioning the narrator about the triads of kṣetras, forests, and cities; palm-leaf manuscripts and a simple route-map lie nearby.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma preserves pilgrimage knowledge through structured inquiry—identifying kṣetras, cities, and forests as spiritual landscapes.
This verse initiates the enumeration; the specific kṣetras and āraṇyas are named in the subsequent replies (e.g., Kurukṣetra, etc.).
No direct rite is prescribed here; it is a formal question prompting the listing of sacred places for later observance (darśana, snāna, etc.).