Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 40
कूर्म उवाच । श्रृणु भूप कथां दिव्यां श्रवणात्पापनाशिनीम् । कथां सुमधुरामेतां शिवमाहात्म्यसंयुताम्
kūrma uvāca | śrṛṇu bhūpa kathāṃ divyāṃ śravaṇātpāpanāśinīm | kathāṃ sumadhurāmetāṃ śivamāhātmyasaṃyutām
कूर्म ने कहा—हे राजन्, इस दिव्य कथा को सुनो; इसके श्रवण मात्र से पाप नष्ट हो जाते हैं। यह कथा अत्यन्त मधुर है और शिव-माहात्म्य से युक्त है।
Kūrma
Listener: Bhūpati (the king)
Scene: Kūrma begins a sacred discourse; the king sits attentive, the space feels like a makeshift āśrama by water, charged with devotional sweetness and promise of purification.
FAQs
Listening (śravaṇa) to Śiva’s māhātmya is itself a purifying act that destroys sin and awakens devotion.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is on the general greatness of Śiva-māhātmya and the fruit of hearing it.
Śravaṇa (devout listening) is prescribed as a direct means of removing pāpa (sin).