भर्तृयज्ञौवाच । बृहत्कल्पे पुरा राजन्हिरण्याक्षो महासुरः । बभूव बलवाञ्छूरः सर्वदेवभयंकरः
bhartṛyajñauvāca | bṛhatkalpe purā rājanhiraṇyākṣo mahāsuraḥ | babhūva balavāñchūraḥ sarvadevabhayaṃkaraḥ
Bhartṛyajña dit : Jadis, ô roi, dans le grand éon nommé Bṛhatkalpa, il y eut l’asura puissant Hiraṇyākṣa, fort, vaillant, et cause d’effroi pour tous les dieux.
Bhartṛyajña
Listener: Rājā (king)
Scene: A vast primeval court-like scene: the mighty Hiraṇyākṣa stands armored and radiant with asuric splendor; devas in the distance appear anxious; the narration evokes an ancient kalpa backdrop.
Purāṇas ground ritual rules in sacred history, linking dharma-practice to cosmic events and moral archetypes.
No tīrtha is named in this verse; it begins a mythic account within the Tīrthamāhātmya framework.
None directly; the verse introduces the narrative context for later ritual prescriptions.