Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 2
पुरा त्रेतायुगे पार्थ चौडदेशसमुद्भवौ । ऊर्जयंतश्च प्रालेयो विप्रावास्तां महाद्युती
purā tretāyuge pārtha cauḍadeśasamudbhavau | ūrjayaṃtaśca prāleyo viprāvāstāṃ mahādyutī
പുരാതന ത്രേതായുഗത്തിൽ, ഹേ പാർഥാ, ചൗഡദേശത്തിൽ ജനിച്ച രണ്ടു മഹാതേജസ്സുള്ള ബ്രാഹ്മണർ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു—ഊർജയന്തനും പ്രാലേയനും।
Nārada (continuing narration)
Tirtha: Somnātha (contextual, upcoming)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pārtha (Arjuna)
Scene: Two radiant brāhmaṇas in simple white garments, with sacred thread and matted hair or neatly tied topknot, stand in a learned setting; a subtle backdrop hints at eastern Indian landscape, beginning of an ancient tale.
FAQs
The māhātmya frames holiness through exemplary lives—learned brāhmaṇas become vehicles for pilgrimage narratives and dharma-teaching.
The broader passage introduces Somanātha; this verse itself sets the characters who will journey into that tīrtha narrative.
No direct ritual is prescribed here; it introduces the protagonists and their era and origin.