Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 1
श्रीसूत उवाच । अथातः संप्रवक्ष्यामि गायत्रीं च सरस्वतीम् । लक्ष्यीकृत्य कथामेकां पवित्रां द्विजसत्तमाः
śrīsūta uvāca | athātaḥ saṃpravakṣyāmi gāyatrīṃ ca sarasvatīm | lakṣyīkṛtya kathāmekāṃ pavitrāṃ dvijasattamāḥ
ศรีสูตกล่าวว่า: บัดนี้เราจักพรรณนามหิมาแห่งคายตรีและสรัสวตีโดยสมควร โอ้ผู้ประเสริฐในหมู่ทวิชะ จงตั้งใจฟังเรื่องราวอันศักดิ์สิทธิ์เรื่องหนึ่งนี้
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sūta)
Tirtha: Gāyatrī-tīrtha and Sarasvatī-tīrtha (tīrthadvaya)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Dvijasattamāḥ / Ṛṣayaḥ (assembled sages)
Scene: Sūta seated in a sacred assembly, beginning the proclamation of Gāyatrī and Sarasvatī’s greatness; sages attentive, palm-leaf manuscripts and ritual vessels nearby; subtle presence of Devī as radiance and river-flow motif.
FAQs
Approaching sacred tradition through focused listening to a purifying narrative is itself a dharmic means to inner purification.
The verse introduces a narrative within Setukhaṇḍa (the Setu/Rāmeśvara sacred geography), though this line itself names deities rather than a site.
No explicit ritual is prescribed here; it frames the merit of śravaṇa (hearing) of a sacred account.