ईश्वर उवाच । अन्यद्देवशिलायास्तु माहात्म्यं शृणु भूपते । कथयामि महाबाहो सेतिहासं पुरातनम्
īśvara uvāca | anyaddevaśilāyāstu māhātmyaṃ śṛṇu bhūpate | kathayāmi mahābāho setihāsaṃ purātanam
Īśvara dit : «Écoute maintenant, ô roi, une autre grandeur : celle de Devaśilā. Je te raconterai, ô puissant aux bras, un antique récit sacré».
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Devaśilā
Type: kshetra
Listener: a king (bhūpati, mahābāhu)
Scene: Śiva as narrator addresses a king, gesturing toward a sacred rock-hill or stone outcrop (Devaśilā) as he begins an ancient legend; attendants and sages sit in a forested hermitage near the river route.
Holy places possess distinctive māhātmya, and hearing their sacred histories is itself a dharmic act that deepens devotion.
Devaśilā is explicitly introduced for praise and narration of its māhātmya.
Śravaṇa (devotional listening) to the māhātmya/itihāsa of the sacred site is prescribed implicitly by ‘śṛṇu’ (hear).