युधिष्ठिर उवाच । केन कार्येण भो तात महादेवो जगद्गुरुः । गुहायामनयत्कालं सुदीर्घं द्विजसत्तम
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kena kāryeṇa bho tāta mahādevo jagadguruḥ | guhāyāmanayatkālaṃ sudīrghaṃ dvijasattama
యుధిష్ఠిరుడు పలికెను—హే పూజ్య తాత, జగద్గురు మహాదేవుడు ఏ కార్యార్థం గుహలో అతి దీర్ఘకాలం గడిపెను, ఓ ద్విజశ్రేష్ఠా?
Yudhiṣṭhira
Tirtha: Guhāvāsī
Type: cave
Listener: Mārkaṇḍeya
Scene: Yudhiṣṭhira, seated respectfully before aged Mārkaṇḍeya in a forest-hermitage, asks why Mahādeva stayed long in a cave; the background hints at a distant mountain cave with a faint Śaiva aura.
Sacred geography is anchored in sacred causality: pilgrims are invited to know the divine purpose behind a site’s holiness.
The cave-associated site implied by “Guhāvāsī” (introduced in the preceding verse).
None; it is an inquiry that initiates the māhātmya explanation.