Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3
श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । हन्त ते कथयिष्यामि विचित्रं यत्पुरातनम् । वृत्तं स्वर्गसभामध्ये ऋषीणां भावितात्मनाम्
śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | hanta te kathayiṣyāmi vicitraṃ yatpurātanam | vṛttaṃ svargasabhāmadhye ṛṣīṇāṃ bhāvitātmanām
श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच—हन्त, तेऽहं कथयिष्यामि पुरातनं विचित्रं वृत्तान्तम्। स्वर्गसभामध्ये भावितात्मनामृषीणां मध्ये यद्वृत्तं तत् शृणु॥
Mārkaṇḍeya
Listener: Bhārata (addressed; typically Yudhiṣṭhira/royal interlocutor in purāṇic style)
Scene: A luminous celestial assembly hall: seated ṛṣis with matted locks and deer-skins, Mārkaṇḍeya poised to narrate; subtle aura of Svarga with pillars, clouds, and divine light.
FAQs
Sacred place-glories are grounded in timeless, authoritative narratives preserved by realized sages.
Not yet; this verse introduces the backstory that will support the tīrtha’s greatness.
None; it is a narrative preface establishing provenance and authority.