Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 24
आदित्यस्य कथामेतां द्रौपद्याराधितस्य वै । यः श्रोष्यति नरो भक्त्या तस्यैनः क्षयमेष्यति
ādityasya kathāmetāṃ draupadyārādhitasya vai | yaḥ śroṣyati naro bhaktyā tasyainaḥ kṣayameṣyati
દ્રૌપદી દ્વારા આરાધિત આદિત્યની આ કથા જે મનુષ્ય ભક્તિપૂર્વક સાંભળે છે, તેના પાપો નિશ્ચયે ક્ષય પામે છે।
Narrator (within Skanda’s discourse)
Scene: A devotional assembly in Kāśī: a sage recites the story of Draupadī’s worship of Āditya; listeners sit with folded hands as a radiant solar disc glows above, symbolizing pāpa-kṣaya through śravaṇa.
FAQs
Devotional listening (śravaṇa) to sacred narratives is itself a purifying practice that erodes pāpa (sin).
The story is situated in Kāśīkhaṇḍa, aligning the merit of śravaṇa with Kāśī’s sanctity.
Śravaṇa: hearing the Āditya-kathā with bhakti is prescribed as a means of purification.