Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 10
कोकिला मधुरैः स्वानैर्नादयंति तथा मुनीन् । यथा कथामृताख्यानैर्ब्राह्मणा भवभीरुकान्
kokilā madhuraiḥ svānairnādayaṃti tathā munīn | yathā kathāmṛtākhyānairbrāhmaṇā bhavabhīrukān
There, cuckoos delight the sages with their sweet calls—just as Brāhmaṇas, by narrating nectar-like sacred stories, gladden those who fear worldly existence.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), as narrator within Māheśvara-khaṇḍa context
Type: kshetra
Scene: Sages seated in a forest hermitage, listening; above them cuckoos sing on flowering branches; a brāhmaṇa storyteller gestures gently, the scene blending nature’s song with kathā.
FAQs
Sacred narration (kathā) is like nectar: it calms fear of saṃsāra and uplifts the mind, just as birdsong soothes ascetics.
No named tīrtha is specified in this verse; it praises the sanctity of a sage’s āśrama environment as a dharmic sacred space.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the implied practice is śravaṇa of kathā (listening to sacred narratives) in the company of Brāhmaṇas and sages.