श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । सुवर्णशिलके ग्रामे गौतमान्वयसम्भवः । कृषीवलो महादेवि भार्यापुत्रसमन्वितः
śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | suvarṇaśilake grāme gautamānvayasambhavaḥ | kṛṣīvalo mahādevi bhāryāputrasamanvitaḥ
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya dit : Dans le village nommé Suvarṇaśilaka vivait un cultivateur, né de la lignée de Gautama, ô Mahādevī, avec son épouse et son fils.
Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Suvarṇaśilaka (as narrative locus)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (frame); vocative 'Mahādevī' indicates a received/variant address within transmission
Scene: Introduction of the protagonist: a farmer of Gautama lineage living with wife and son in Suvarṇaśilaka—fields, huts, and a calm rural setting foreshadow an impending moral test.
It grounds the Purāṇic teaching in an ordinary householder setting, showing that dharma unfolds through everyday family life.
The verse situates the account in the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred landscape, beginning at the village of Suvarṇaśilaka (within the Revā/Narmadā milieu).
No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it introduces the पात्र (characters) for the ensuing narrative.