सूत उवाच । कथयामि कथामेतां शृणुत द्विज सत्तमाः । अस्ति विंध्य इति ख्यातः पर्वतः पृथिवीतले
sūta uvāca | kathayāmi kathāmetāṃ śṛṇuta dvija sattamāḥ | asti viṃdhya iti khyātaḥ parvataḥ pṛthivītale
சூதர் கூறினார்—இந்தக் கதையை நான் உரைக்கிறேன்; ஓ சிறந்த இருபிறப்பினரே, கேளுங்கள். பூமியில் ‘விந்த்ய’ எனப் புகழ்பெற்ற ஒரு மலை உள்ளது.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sūta narrator)
Tirtha: Vindhya (setting for the forthcoming tīrtha account)
Type: peak
Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ / ṛṣis
Scene: Sūta, seated in a forest assembly, begins the tale by pointing toward a vast mountain mass—Vindhya—rising across the horizon, establishing the setting.
Sacred history is transmitted through attentive listening (śravaṇa), which becomes a gateway to understanding tīrtha-māhātmya.
The narrative begins with Vindhya mountain, a key sacred landscape connected to later tīrtha significance.
No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the instruction is to listen carefully to the purāṇic account.