Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12
सूत उवाच । अत्र वः कीर्तयिष्यामि पूर्ववृत्तं कथानकम् । भर्तृयज्ञस्य संवादमश्वसेनस्य भूपतेः
sūta uvāca | atra vaḥ kīrtayiṣyāmi pūrvavṛttaṃ kathānakam | bhartṛyajñasya saṃvādamaśvasenasya bhūpateḥ
Sūta berkata: “Di sini aku akan mengisahkan kepada kamu sebuah cerita purba—iaitu dialog antara Bhartṛyajña dan Raja Aśvasena.”
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sauti)
Listener: Assemblage of sages/seekers (implied)
Scene: Sūta, seated in a forest-āśrama or yajña-sabhā, begins recounting an ancient dialogue; attentive listeners sit in rows, with palm-leaf manuscripts and ritual vessels nearby.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma transmits vrata-greatness through remembered sacred narratives, linking practice to authoritative tradition.
The story is introduced within the same Maṃkaṇeśvara tīrtha context, as the explanatory backdrop for Śivarātri’s greatness.
None directly; the verse signals an upcoming kathā (origin narrative) that will ground the Śivarātri observance.