ऋषय ऊचुः । भट्टिकाख्या पुरा प्रोक्ता या त्वया सूतनन्दन । कस्मात्तस्याः शरीरान्ताद्दंष्ट्रा नागसमुद्भवाः
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | bhaṭṭikākhyā purā proktā yā tvayā sūtanandana | kasmāttasyāḥ śarīrāntāddaṃṣṭrā nāgasamudbhavāḥ
เหล่าฤๅษีกล่าวว่า: “โอ บุตรแห่งสูตะ ท่านได้กล่าวถึงนางภัฏฏิกาไว้ก่อนแล้ว เหตุใดจากปลายกายของนางจึงบังเกิดเขี้ยวที่กำเนิดจากนาค?”
Ṛṣis (Sages)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūtanandana (Sūta’s son)
Scene: A forest hermitage assembly: rishis seated in a semicircle, addressing Sūta’s son with raised hands in inquiry; the narrative hint of a mysterious woman (Bhaṭṭikā) and serpent imagery suggested symbolically (nāga-hood motif on a manuscript margin).
Māhātmya narratives are preserved through inquiry and transmission—sages ask precise questions so the sacred cause-and-effect (nidāna) is clearly known.
This opening question introduces the next tīrtha-linked origin account (nidāna) within Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya framework.
None in this verse; it functions as a narrative prompt initiating the explanation of Bhaṭṭikā and the Nāga-related phenomenon.