Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3
सूत उवाच । एतदर्थं पुरा पृष्टो मार्कंडेयो महामुनिः । रोहिताश्वेन विप्रेंद्रा हरिश्चन्द्र सुतेन सः
sūta uvāca | etadarthaṃ purā pṛṣṭo mārkaṃḍeyo mahāmuniḥ | rohitāśvena vipreṃdrā hariścandra sutena saḥ
सूत उवाच—एतदर्थं पुरा मार्कण्डेयो महामुनिः पृष्टः; हे विप्रेन्द्राः, हरिश्चन्द्रसुतेन रोहिताश्वेन सः।
Sūta
Listener: Ṛṣis
Scene: Sūta begins recounting an older episode: Mārkaṇḍeya seated as a venerable sage, Rohitāśva as a respectful king with folded hands; a subtle temporal shift indicated by a vignette-like composition.
FAQs
Dharma is preserved through lineage and inquiry: kings and householders seek authoritative guidance from realized sages for correct ancestral rites.
The narrative soon situates the teaching in the Sarayū–Ayodhyā sacred landscape, a key tīrtha-context in this Adhyāya.
No prescription is given yet; the verse introduces the authoritative precedent for answering questions about śrāddha.