Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5
पाराशर उवाच । शृणु सूत महाबुद्धे भक्तिश्रद्धासमन्वितः । शुकवैशंपायनाद्याः शृण्वंत्वेते च बालकाः
pārāśara uvāca | śṛṇu sūta mahābuddhe bhaktiśraddhāsamanvitaḥ | śukavaiśaṃpāyanādyāḥ śṛṇvaṃtvete ca bālakāḥ
Parāśara berkata: “Dengarlah, wahai Sūta yang berakal besar; dengarlah dengan bhakti dan śraddhā. Biarlah Śuka, Vaiśaṃpāyana dan yang lain-lain, serta para pelajar muda ini juga turut mendengar.”
Parāśara
Listener: Sūta; also Śuka, Vaiśaṃpāyana, and young students as co-listeners
Scene: A teaching assembly: the speaker addresses Sūta and a circle of sages and young brahmacārins; Śuka and Vaiśaṃpāyana are present as revered listeners.
FAQs
Listening to sacred geography and dharma teachings with devotion and faith is itself a meritorious act and the doorway to understanding Kāśī’s greatness.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is the larger subject; this verse calls the audience to attentive listening before its māhātmya is unfolded.
Śravaṇa-vidhi in spirit: the instruction is to listen with bhakti and śraddhā, a foundational purāṇic practice.