Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3
ऋषय ऊचुः । एक एव श्रुतो रुद्रो न द्वितीयः कथंचन । गौरी भार्याप्रिया यस्य स्कन्दः पुत्रः प्रकीर्तितः
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | eka eva śruto rudro na dvitīyaḥ kathaṃcana | gaurī bhāryāpriyā yasya skandaḥ putraḥ prakīrtitaḥ
Les sages dirent : « Nous avons entendu que Rudra est Un, et qu’il n’existe nul second en aucune manière. Celui dont l’épouse bien-aimée est Gaurī, et dont le fils est célébré comme Skanda. »
Ṛṣayaḥ (the sages)
Listener: Sūta (as respondent in next verse)
Scene: A circle of sages seated in a forest hermitage, addressing the narrator; in the background a symbolic vision of Rudra with Gaurī beside him and Skanda as youthful divine son.
FAQs
It affirms the oneness and unsurpassed sovereignty of Rudra (Śiva), even while acknowledging his familial forms as Gaurī’s husband and Skanda’s father.
The immediate narrative context in this adhyāya moves toward Hāṭakeśvara connected with Vārāṇasī/Kāśī sacred geography.
No explicit rite is prescribed in this verse; it is a doctrinal statement preparing for the ensuing tīrtha narrative.