Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18
यथा पंचनदोत्पत्तिस्तथा च कथयाम्यहम् । निशामय महाभाग मित्रावरुणनंदन
yathā paṃcanadotpattistathā ca kathayāmyaham | niśāmaya mahābhāga mitrāvaruṇanaṃdana
പഞ്ചനദം എങ്ങനെ ഉദ്ഭവിച്ചതോ അതുപോലെ ഞാൻ നിന്നോട് പറയുന്നു. ഹേ മഹാഭാഗ്യവാനേ, മിത്ര-വരുണന്റെ നന്ദനേ, ശ്രദ്ധയോടെ കേൾക്കുക.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Pañcanada
Type: sangam
Listener: Vasiṣṭha (Mitra-Varuṇa-nandana)
Scene: A revered narrator begins the Pañcanada origin tale, addressing ‘son of Mitra and Varuṇa’ (Vasiṣṭha); the setting is an āśrama near sacred waters, with disciples listening in stillness.
FAQs
Māhātmya is grounded in sacred history: the tīrtha’s greatness is supported by an origin narrative meant to be heard with reverence.
Pañcanada, whose ‘utpatti’ (origin) is about to be described.
No direct ritual is prescribed here; it introduces śravaṇa (devotional listening) to the tīrtha’s origin as part of Māhātmya tradition.