Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5
भगवन्सर्वतीर्थानां क्षेत्राणां च वदस्व मे । यत्प्रधानं पवित्रं यत्तदस्माकं प्रकीर्तय
bhagavansarvatīrthānāṃ kṣetrāṇāṃ ca vadasva me | yatpradhānaṃ pavitraṃ yattadasmākaṃ prakīrtaya
اے بھگون! تمام تیرتھوں اور مقدّس کھیترَوں کا حال مجھے بتائیے؛ اور ہمارے لیے بیان کیجیے کہ ان میں کون سا سب سے برتر ہے اور کون سا سب سے زیادہ پاک کرنے والا ہے۔
Yayāti (in dialogue with Mārkaṇḍeya)
Scene: A royal listener (nṛpaśreṣṭha) respectfully questions a sage about the foremost tīrtha; the setting suggests an assembly with palm-leaf manuscripts, water-pot, and ascetic emblems.
FAQs
Dharma encourages discernment: seekers should learn which holy places most effectively purify and uplift, rather than wandering without guidance.
Not named yet; the question sets up Mārkaṇḍeya’s identification of the foremost kṣetra in the next verse.
General orientation to tīrtha-sevana (seeking and honoring pilgrimage places); no specific rite is detailed.