Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1
ऋषय ऊचुः । केनासौ मुनिशार्दूलो मांडव्यः सुमहातपाः । शूलायां स्थापितः केन कारणेन च नो वद
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | kenāsau muniśārdūlo māṃḍavyaḥ sumahātapāḥ | śūlāyāṃ sthāpitaḥ kena kāraṇena ca no vada
Para resi berkata: “Oleh siapakah Māṇḍavya, harimau di antara para muni—yang amat besar tapa-bratanya—telah dipacakkan pada pancang? Dan kerana sebab apakah hal itu terjadi, khabarkanlah kepada kami.”
Ṛṣayaḥ (the sages)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūta (implied respondent in the frame)
Scene: A circle of ṛṣis in a forest hermitage respectfully question the narrator about Māṇḍavya’s shocking impalement—faces showing wonder and concern; the unseen ‘stake’ is implied as a looming symbol of worldly justice.
FAQs
It introduces a dharma-and-karma inquiry: even great ascetics’ lives are explained through causality and moral order in Purāṇic narrative.
The verse begins a new episode within the broader Hāṭakeśvara Kṣetra Māhātmya setting of the Nāgara Khaṇḍa.
None; it is a question that opens a new teaching narrative.