आसतुर्ब्राह्मणौ पूर्वं लिखितः शंख एव च । भ्रातरौ वेदविदुषौ तपस्युग्रे व्यवस्थितौ
āsaturbrāhmaṇau pūrvaṃ likhitaḥ śaṃkha eva ca | bhrātarau vedaviduṣau tapasyugre vyavasthitau
Pada zaman dahulu ada dua bersaudara Brahmana—Likhita dan Śaṅkha—yang mahir dalam Veda dan teguh bersemadi dalam tapa yang amat keras.
Nārada
Tirtha: Śaṅkhatīrtha (origin narrative begins)
Type: kshetra
Listener: The King (pārthiva), contextually Siddhasena
Scene: Two brāhmaṇa brothers, Śaṅkha and Likhita, sit in austere posture with matted hair and sacred threads, reciting Veda and performing severe tapas in a forest hermitage—foreshadowing a sacred geography’s birth.
Vedic learning joined with tapas is portrayed as the foundation for sacred events that later sanctify places and become tīrtha traditions.
This verse begins the backstory leading to the manifestation connected with Śaṃkhatīrtha.
No explicit rite; it highlights tapas (austerity) as the brothers’ discipline.