Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 80
यः शृणोति नरो भक्त्या नारी वा त्विदमद्भुतम् । कुले तस्य भवेच्छ्रेयः कल्पांतेऽपि युधिष्ठिर
yaḥ śṛṇoti naro bhaktyā nārī vā tvidamadbhutam | kule tasya bhavecchreyaḥ kalpāṃte'pi yudhiṣṭhira
हे युधिष्ठिर, पुरुष असो वा स्त्री—जो भक्तीने हे अद्भुत आख्यान ऐकतो/ऐकते, त्याच्या कुळात कल्पांतापर्यंत श्रेय व कल्याण होते।
Vyāsa (deduced; addressing Yudhiṣṭhira explicitly)
Tirtha: Devakhāta (māhātmya being heard)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: A mixed assembly of men and women seated in devotion, listening to a sacred narration; Yudhiṣṭhira is addressed, suggesting a royal listener. Above them, a symbolic kalpa-tree or cosmic horizon indicates ‘until kalpa-end’ welfare.
FAQs
Devotional listening to sacred narratives (māhātmya) is itself a potent dharmic act that uplifts both the listener and the lineage.
The immediate context remains the Devakhāta tīrtha being praised in Adhyāya 15.
Śravaṇa—hearing the wondrous māhātmya with devotion (bhaktyā).