ईश्वर उवाच । शृणु देवि प्रवक्ष्यामि कथां पापप्रणाशिनीम् । यां श्रुत्वा मानवो देवि मुक्तः संसारसागरात् । सर्वान्कामान्स लभते सततं मनसि प्रियान्
īśvara uvāca | śṛṇu devi pravakṣyāmi kathāṃ pāpapraṇāśinīm | yāṃ śrutvā mānavo devi muktaḥ saṃsārasāgarāt | sarvānkāmānsa labhate satataṃ manasi priyān
Ishvara berkata: Dengarlah, O Dewi, Aku akan menceritakan kisah penghapus dosa. Dengan mendengarnya, manusia dibebaskan dari lautan samsara dan terus memperoleh semua keinginan yang didambakan dalam pikiran.
Īśvara (Śiva)
Śravaṇa (devotional listening) to a purāṇic māhātmya is presented as transformative—destroying sin and orienting one toward liberation.
Implicitly the Rāmeśvara/Prabhāsa sacred complex, since the kathā being introduced concerns its prabhāva.
Śravaṇa—listening to the māhātmya (kathā-śravaṇa) as a meritorious practice.