कथयस्व कथां सूत पुण्यां पापनिषूदिनीम् । श्रुत्वा यां याति विलयं पापं जन्मशतोद्भवम्
kathayasva kathāṃ sūta puṇyāṃ pāpaniṣūdinīm | śrutvā yāṃ yāti vilayaṃ pāpaṃ janmaśatodbhavam
「語り給え、スータよ、功徳を生み罪を滅する聖なる物語を。これを聞けば、百の生に積もった罪はことごとく消え去る。」
Ṛṣis (Śaunaka and others)
Listener: Sūta
Scene: Sages earnestly request the Sūta to narrate; the air feels charged with sanctity—hands folded, eyes intent—suggesting the promised dissolution of sins through hearing.
Hearing sacred Purāṇic narration with faith is portrayed as a powerful purifier that destroys long-accumulated sin.
No single tīrtha is named here; the merit is tied to śravaṇa (hearing) within the Naimiṣāraṇya assembly.
The implied prescription is kathā-śravaṇa—listening to a holy narrative as a purificatory dharmic act.