Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1
ऋषय ऊचुः । कथाया लक्षणं ब्रूहि गुणदोषान्सविस्तरान् । आर्षेयपौरुषेयाणां काव्यचिह्नपरीक्षणम् । कथं ज्ञेयं महाबुद्धे श्रोतुमिच्छामहे वयम्
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | kathāyā lakṣaṇaṃ brūhi guṇadoṣānsavistarān | ārṣeyapauruṣeyāṇāṃ kāvyacihnaparīkṣaṇam | kathaṃ jñeyaṃ mahābuddhe śrotumicchāmahe vayam
ऋषी म्हणाले—कथेचे लक्षण सांगा, तिचे गुण-दोष सविस्तर वर्णन करा; तसेच आर्षेय व पौरुषेय रचनांची काव्यचिन्हांद्वारे परीक्षा कशी करावी तेही सांगा। हे महाबुद्धिमान, हे यथार्थ कसे ओळखावे? आम्ही ऐकू इच्छितो।
Ṛṣayaḥ (the sages)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūta
Scene: A semicircle of sages respectfully interrogates Sūta, palms joined, requesting a systematic method to evaluate sacred narratives and distinguish seer-origin from human composition.
FAQs
Seek discernment (viveka) in sacred listening—knowing the marks of authentic, dharma-aligned narration.
The immediate verse frames a teaching within the Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya setting, but does not yet praise a specific sub-tīrtha.
None; the verse requests doctrinal criteria for evaluating sacred narratives.