व्यास उवाच । शृणु सूत महाबुद्धे यथा स्कंदेन भाषितम् । भविष्यं मम तस्याग्रे कुंभयोने महामते
vyāsa uvāca | śṛṇu sūta mahābuddhe yathā skaṃdena bhāṣitam | bhaviṣyaṃ mama tasyāgre kuṃbhayone mahāmate
Vyāsa bersabda: Dengarlah, wahai Sūta yang berakal agung, sebagaimana yang telah diucapkan Skanda. Dengarkan pula nubuat tentang diriku yang disampaikan di hadapan sang mahāmatī Kumbhayoni, yakni Agastya.
Vyāsa
Listener: Sūta
Scene: Vyāsa, austere and luminous, addresses Sūta in a hermitage; behind them, a faint vignette shows Skanda speaking to Agastya—visualizing nested narration like a story within a story.
Purāṇic wisdom is preserved through layered transmission—Skanda’s words are carried forward by Vyāsa to Sūta.
The broader context is Kāśī-māhātmya within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, though this verse primarily sets the narrative frame.
None; it introduces the next section of narration.