Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 3
स्कंद उवाच । रत्नेश्वरस्य माहात्म्यं कथयिष्यामि ते मुने । यथा च रत्नलिंगस्य प्रादुर्भावोऽभवद्भुवि
skaṃda uvāca | ratneśvarasya māhātmyaṃ kathayiṣyāmi te mune | yathā ca ratnaliṃgasya prādurbhāvo'bhavadbhuvi
สกันทกล่าวว่า: โอ้ ฤๅษี เราจักเล่ามหาตมยะของรัตเนศวรแก่ท่าน และว่าลึงค์รัตนะนั้นได้ปรากฏขึ้นบนแผ่นดินอย่างไร
Skanda
Tirtha: Ratneśvara
Type: temple
Listener: Agastya
Scene: Skanda begins his narration to Agastya, promising to tell Ratneśvara’s greatness and the earthly manifestation of the jewel-liṅga; the moment is poised, like the opening of a sacred chronicle.
FAQs
Māhātmya narratives transmit sacred power through remembrance and hearing, revealing how divine presence becomes accessible on earth.
Ratneśvara (Ratna-liṅga) associated with Kāśī, whose manifestation story is about to be told.
No explicit rite; it introduces the māhātmya and prādurbhāva account.