गौतमः श्रद्धया भक्त्या गंगामौलिमखंडधीः । तदाऽभून्महदाश्चर्यं शृण्वंतु ऋषयोऽमलाः
gautamaḥ śraddhayā bhaktyā gaṃgāmaulimakhaṃḍadhīḥ | tadā'bhūnmahadāścaryaṃ śṛṇvaṃtu ṛṣayo'malāḥ
गंगा-मौलि भगवान् के प्रति श्रद्धा-भक्ति से युक्त, अडिग बुद्धि वाले गौतम ने तब एक महान आश्चर्य देखा। “निर्मल ऋषिगण सुनें,” (ऐसा कहा गया)।
Narrative voice (continuing Prahlāda’s narration)
Listener: ṛṣayaḥ (assembled sages)
Scene: Gautama, steadfast and devotional, stands or sits in meditation before an unseen Śiva; a ‘great wonder’ begins—light, celestial signs, or a subtle manifestation—while the narrator calls the ‘stainless sages’ to listen.
Steadfast faith (śraddhā) and devotion (bhakti) attract divine intervention and open the way for revelation.
The immediate verse foreshadows a revelation; the larger passage proceeds toward the sacred geography of Dvārakā and its environs.
No specific rite is prescribed; the emphasis is on śraddhā-bhakti as the inner discipline preceding divine communication.