Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14
भर्तृयज्ञ उवाच । आथर्वः प्रथमः प्रश्नो यस्मात्प्रोक्तो मया द्विजाः । तदहं संप्रवक्ष्यामि शृणुध्वं सुसमाहिताः
bhartṛyajña uvāca | ātharvaḥ prathamaḥ praśno yasmātprokto mayā dvijāḥ | tadahaṃ saṃpravakṣyāmi śṛṇudhvaṃ susamāhitāḥ
Bhartṛyajña sprach: „O Zweimalgeborene, da ich den Atharvan als die erste Frage bezeichnete, will ich nun den Grund darlegen. Hört mit gefestigter, gesammelt ausgerichteter Aufmerksamkeit.“
Bhartṛyajña
Listener: Brāhmaṇas (dvijāḥ)
Scene: Bhartṛyajña, seated as a preceptor, raises his hand in assurance, inviting the brāhmaṇas to listen attentively as he explains why Atharvan is treated as first in this context.
FAQs
Dharma is transmitted through attentive listening and reasoned explanation, not mere assertion.
The chapter belongs to the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya setting in Nāgara-khaṇḍa, though this verse is a preface to the explanation.
The prescription here is internal: to listen with concentration (samādhāna) to receive dharmic teaching.