Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 23
मुनय ऊचुः । रंभां किमर्थमशपत्कौशिकः सूतनंदन । कथं गता शिलाभूता कपितीर्थं सुरांगना । एतन्नः सर्वमाचक्ष्व विस्तरान्मुनिसत्तम
munaya ūcuḥ | raṃbhāṃ kimarthamaśapatkauśikaḥ sūtanaṃdana | kathaṃ gatā śilābhūtā kapitīrthaṃ surāṃganā | etannaḥ sarvamācakṣva vistarānmunisattama
Les sages dirent : «Pour quelle raison Kauśika maudit-il Rambhā, ô fils de Sūta ? Et comment cette nymphe céleste, changée en pierre, parvint-elle à Kapitīrtha ? Dis-nous tout cela en détail, ô le meilleur des sages.»
Munis (Sages)
Tirtha: Kapitīrtha
Type: kshetra
Listener: mūnayaḥ/ṛṣayaḥ
Scene: Forest hermitage assembly: sages seated in a semicircle, addressing Sūta with raised palms; in the background, a faint vignette of Rambhā as stone near a coastal tīrtha hints at the story to come.
FAQs
Māhātmya is transmitted through inquiry and faithful listening; understanding a tīrtha’s backstory deepens devotion and dharmic orientation.
Kapitīrtha, whose fame prompts the sages to request the full narrative.
No explicit ritual is stated; the implied practice is śravaṇa—listening to the tīrtha-māhātmya in detail.