Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4
श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । साधु साधु महाबाहो सोमवंशविभूषण । पृष्टोऽस्मि दुर्लभं तीर्थं गुह्याद्गुह्यतरं परम्
śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | sādhu sādhu mahābāho somavaṃśavibhūṣaṇa | pṛṣṭo'smi durlabhaṃ tīrthaṃ guhyādguhyataraṃ param
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya bersabda: “Sungguh baik, sungguh baik, wahai yang berlengan perkasa, perhiasan Wangsa Soma! Engkau telah bertanya kepadaku tentang suatu tīrtha yang sukar diperoleh—yang paling utama, dan lebih rahsia daripada apa yang dinamakan rahsia.”
Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Guhya-tīrtha on Revā (unnamed in this verse; anticipatory)
Type: kshetra
Listener: A Soma-vaṃśa kṣatriya (ornament of the Lunar dynasty; specific name not in verse)
Scene: A forest-āśrama setting: sage Mārkaṇḍeya, serene and radiant, praises a royal/questioner of the Soma lineage, signaling the opening of a secret tīrtha teaching.
FAQs
Reverent questioning about dharma and tīrthas opens access to rare, profound sacred knowledge.
The verse introduces a ‘rare and secret’ tīrtha; its specific identification follows in the subsequent narrative.
None; it is a commendation and preface to the tīrtha’s explanation.