Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3
ईश्वर उवाच । शृणु देवि प्रवक्ष्यामि सूर्यमाहात्म्यमुत्तमम् । यच्छ्रुत्वा मानवो भक्त्या मुच्यते सर्वपातकैः
īśvara uvāca | śṛṇu devi pravakṣyāmi sūryamāhātmyamuttamam | yacchrutvā mānavo bhaktyā mucyate sarvapātakaiḥ
ஈஸ்வரன் கூறினான்—தேவி, கேள்; சூரியனின் உத்தம மஹாத்மியத்தை நான் உரைப்பேன். அதை பக்தியுடன் கேட்ட மனிதன் எல்லாப் பாவங்களிலிருந்தும் விடுபடுவான்.
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa (as the locus of the Sūrya-māhātmya narrative)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Devī
Scene: Shiva begins a formal proclamation to Devi: a teaching posture, calm authority, with a subtle solar emblem (lotus-disc or radiant halo) indicating the subject—Sūrya’s greatness and sin-destroying power of hearing.
FAQs
Śravaṇa (devotional hearing) of māhātmya is itself a purifying dharma, capable of dissolving sins when done with bhakti.
Prabhāsa indirectly, as the setting for the forthcoming Sūrya/Arkasthala greatness narrative.
Śravaṇa (listening) to the Sūrya Māhātmya with devotion is presented as a sin-destroying practice.