ऋषय ऊचुः । भट्टिकाख्या पुरा प्रोक्ता या त्वया सूतनन्दन । कस्मात्तस्याः शरीरान्ताद्दंष्ट्रा नागसमुद्भवाः
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | bhaṭṭikākhyā purā proktā yā tvayā sūtanandana | kasmāttasyāḥ śarīrāntāddaṃṣṭrā nāgasamudbhavāḥ
ഋഷിമാർ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ സൂതനന്ദന! നീ മുമ്പ് ഭട്ടികാ എന്നവളെ പറഞ്ഞുവല്ലോ. അവളുടെ ശരീരാന്തത്തിൽ നിന്ന് നാഗസമുദ്ഭവ ദംഷ്ട്രകൾ ഏതു കാരണത്താൽ ഉദിച്ചു?
Ṛṣis (Sages)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūtanandana (Sūta’s son)
Scene: A forest hermitage assembly: rishis seated in a semicircle, addressing Sūta’s son with raised hands in inquiry; the narrative hint of a mysterious woman (Bhaṭṭikā) and serpent imagery suggested symbolically (nāga-hood motif on a manuscript margin).
Māhātmya narratives are preserved through inquiry and transmission—sages ask precise questions so the sacred cause-and-effect (nidāna) is clearly known.
This opening question introduces the next tīrtha-linked origin account (nidāna) within Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya framework.
None in this verse; it functions as a narrative prompt initiating the explanation of Bhaṭṭikā and the Nāga-related phenomenon.