Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17
कस्मिंश्चिदथ संप्राप्ते कथांते ते मुनीश्वराः । पप्रच्छुर्भूमिपालं तु कौतूहलसमन्विताः
kasmiṃścidatha saṃprāpte kathāṃte te munīśvarāḥ | papracchurbhūmipālaṃ tu kautūhalasamanvitāḥ
Als das Gespräch dann an einen bestimmten Punkt gelangte, befragten jene erhabenen Weisen, von Neugier erfüllt, den König.
Narratorial voice within Māhātmya (exact speaker not stated in snippet)
Listener: Purāṇa audience; internally, the king is the respondent
Scene: Sages lean forward with attentive curiosity, gesturing as they pose a question to the seated king; the sabhā pauses at a narrative turning point.
FAQs
Dharma is clarified through respectful questioning in the company of sages—curiosity becomes a vehicle for truth.
The questioning occurs within the Mahākāla tīrtha setting established earlier in the adhyāya.
No direct prescription yet; it introduces a question that will elicit ritual details.