Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5
मार्कण्डेय उवाच । कथयामि यथावृत्तमितिहासं पुरातनम् । कथितं पूर्वतो वृद्धैः पारम्पर्येण भारत
mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | kathayāmi yathāvṛttamitihāsaṃ purātanam | kathitaṃ pūrvato vṛddhaiḥ pāramparyeṇa bhārata
พระมารกัณฑेयกล่าวว่า “โอ ภารตะ เราจักเล่าอิติหาสะโบราณตามที่เกิดขึ้นจริง ดังที่บรรพชนผู้เฒ่าได้ถ่ายทอดสืบต่อกันมา”
Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Rukmiṇī-tīrtha
Type: ghat
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya begins the ancient account, evoking elders and lineage; a storyteller’s posture with attentive royal listener; manuscripts, rosary, and hermitage setting suggest tradition.
FAQs
Tīrtha-māhātmyas are preserved through paramparā; reverence for tradition safeguards dharma and sacred memory.
The narration is preparing the origin account connected to Rukmiṇī Tīrtha (explicitly discussed in this adhyāya).
None; the verse establishes the authority of the forthcoming traditional narrative.