Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 80
यः शृणोति नरो भक्त्या नारी वा त्विदमद्भुतम् । कुले तस्य भवेच्छ्रेयः कल्पांतेऽपि युधिष्ठिर
yaḥ śṛṇoti naro bhaktyā nārī vā tvidamadbhutam | kule tasya bhavecchreyaḥ kalpāṃte'pi yudhiṣṭhira
Ob Mann oder Frau: Wer diese wunderbare Erzählung voll Hingabe hört, in dessen Geschlecht werden Glück und geistiges Heil entstehen, selbst bis zum Ende des Kalpa, o Yudhiṣṭhira.
Vyāsa (deduced; addressing Yudhiṣṭhira explicitly)
Tirtha: Devakhāta (māhātmya being heard)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: A mixed assembly of men and women seated in devotion, listening to a sacred narration; Yudhiṣṭhira is addressed, suggesting a royal listener. Above them, a symbolic kalpa-tree or cosmic horizon indicates ‘until kalpa-end’ welfare.
FAQs
Devotional listening to sacred narratives (māhātmya) is itself a potent dharmic act that uplifts both the listener and the lineage.
The immediate context remains the Devakhāta tīrtha being praised in Adhyāya 15.
Śravaṇa—hearing the wondrous māhātmya with devotion (bhaktyā).