Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3
अतीते तु पुरा कल्पे यथेयं वर्ततेऽनघ । अस्यान्त्यस्य च कल्पस्य व्यवस्थां कथय प्रभो । एवमुक्तः सभामध्ये मार्कण्डो वाक्यमब्रवीत्
atīte tu purā kalpe yatheyaṃ vartate'nagha | asyāntyasya ca kalpasya vyavasthāṃ kathaya prabho | evamuktaḥ sabhāmadhye mārkaṇḍo vākyamabravīt
In einem einst vergangenen, uralten Kalpa, so wie es auch jetzt geschieht, o Makelloser—verkünde auch, o Herr, die Ordnung und Einrichtung dieses letzten Kalpa. So inmitten der Versammlung angesprochen, sprach Mārkaṇḍa diese Worte.
Narrative transition (Yudhiṣṭhira’s request; then Mārkaṇḍeya is introduced as respondent)
Listener: Ṛṣi-assembly (sabhā) / interlocutor addressing ‘anagha’
Scene: A sage-assembly (sabhā) where a questioner requests the ordinance of the present ‘final’ kalpa; Mārkaṇḍeya prepares to speak, seated among ṛṣis.
FAQs
Purāṇic wisdom is transmitted through disciplined dialogue and lineage; cosmic time is treated as an ordered ‘vyavasthā’ to be understood, not feared.
No specific tīrtha is named; the verse functions as a narrative bridge introducing Mārkaṇḍeya’s teaching within the Revā Khaṇḍa.
None; it introduces the forthcoming exposition by Mārkaṇḍeya.