Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 186
एतत्पुण्यं पापहरं कथितं ते नृपोत्तम । भारतेदं महाख्यानं शृणु चैव ततः परम्
etatpuṇyaṃ pāpaharaṃ kathitaṃ te nṛpottama | bhāratedaṃ mahākhyānaṃ śṛṇu caiva tataḥ param
Ó melhor dos reis, foi-te narrado este relato meritório, destruidor do pecado. Agora ouve ainda esta grande narrativa preservada na tradição do Bhārata.
Mārkaṇḍeya (explicitly named at the start of the next adhyāya)
Tirtha: रेवा-खण्ड (समष्टि माहात्म्य)
Type: kshetra
Listener: नृपोत्तम (राजा)
Scene: ऋषि कथावाचक राजसभा/आश्रम में राजा को ‘पापहर’ माहात्म्य सुनाकर आगे की ‘महाख्यान’ कथा का आमंत्रण देता है
FAQs
Hearing and preserving tīrtha-māhātmya is itself meritorious and is framed as a means to cleanse sin.
It concludes the immediately preceding tīrtha praise and transitions to the next sacred account.
Śravaṇa (devotional listening) is implied: the king is instructed to listen to the subsequent sacred narrative.