Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 15
सूत उवाच । अत्र क्षेत्रे स्वरूपेण स्थातव्यं वचनान्मम । पापिनां प्राणिनां चात्र रक्षा कार्या प्रयत्नतः
sūta uvāca | atra kṣetre svarūpeṇa sthātavyaṃ vacanānmama | pāpināṃ prāṇināṃ cātra rakṣā kāryā prayatnataḥ
سوت نے کہا: “اس مقدس کھیتر میں میرے کلام کے مطابق تمہیں اپنے ظاہر شدہ روپ میں ہی ٹھہرنا ہے؛ اور یہاں گناہگار جانداروں کی بھی پوری کوشش سے حفاظت کرنی ہے۔”
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Deities/guardians addressed within the narrative; externally Śaunaka and sages
Scene: Sūta, as authoritative narrator, issues a solemn injunction: the divine guardian must remain manifest in the kṣetra and protect even sinful beings; pilgrims appear weary and penitent, sheltered under the kṣetra’s sanctity.
FAQs
A tīrtha is a place of refuge: its guardianship extends compassion and protection even to the fallen who approach it.
Prabhāsakṣetra, described as a protected kṣetra where divine presence is stationed.
No specific rite; the instruction is administrative-spiritual: remaining present in the kṣetra and protecting beings.