Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7
समागमे मुनीनां तु देवानां हि तथैव च । कथितं देवदेवेन शितिकण्ठेन भारत । कैलासे पर्वतश्रेष्ठे तत्ते संकथयाम्यहम्
samāgame munīnāṃ tu devānāṃ hi tathaiva ca | kathitaṃ devadevena śitikaṇṭhena bhārata | kailāse parvataśreṣṭhe tatte saṃkathayāmyaham
ಮುನಿಗಳೂ ದೇವತೆಗಳೂ ಸೇರಿದ ಸಮಾಗಮದಲ್ಲಿ ದೇವದೇವ ಶಿತಿಕಂಠ (ಶಿವ)ನು, ಹೇ ಭಾರತ, ಪರ್ವತಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಕೈಲಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಿದ ವೃತ್ತಾಂತವನ್ನು ನಾನು ಈಗ ನಿನಗೆ ವಿವರಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ।
Mārkaṇḍeya
Listener: Bhārata (addressed as ‘O Bhārata’)
Scene: On snow-bright Kailāsa, Śitikaṇṭha (blue-throated Śiva) addresses an assembly of devas and munis; the narrator turns to Bhārata to transmit the sacred account.
FAQs
Tīrtha-greatness is revealed through divine discourse and preserved through sage-to-king transmission.
Śuklatīrtha is the topic being introduced; Kailāsa is given as the narrative setting of the original teaching.
None directly; the verse establishes the authority-chain (Śiva → assembly → present narration).