Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21
जन्मान्तरकृतं पुण्यं परं कौतूहलं हि मे । कथयस्व प्रसादेन विस्तरेण द्विजोत्तम
janmāntarakṛtaṃ puṇyaṃ paraṃ kautūhalaṃ hi me | kathayasva prasādena vistareṇa dvijottama
पूर्वजन्म में किया हुआ मेरा पुण्य मुझे अत्यन्त कौतूहल में डालता है। हे द्विजोत्तम, कृपा करके उसे विस्तार से पूर्णतः कहिए।
Rājā (the King)
Listener: Vasiṣṭha (addressed as द्विजोत्तम)
Scene: A king (or noble seeker) with folded hands questions a radiant sage seated in an āśrama; palm-leaf manuscripts, sacrificial fire, and a calm forest backdrop signal a dharma-kathā beginning.
FAQs
It affirms continuity of karma across lives and encourages seeking dharmic understanding from realized teachers.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is an appeal for explanation within the Arbuda-khaṇḍa context.
None; it requests a detailed account of prior-life merit.