Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3
सूत उवाच । अत्र वः कीर्तयिष्यामि देव्या माहात्म्यमुत्तमम् । श्रुतमात्रेऽपि मर्त्यानां येन शत्रुक्षयो भवेत्
sūta uvāca | atra vaḥ kīrtayiṣyāmi devyā māhātmyamuttamam | śrutamātre'pi martyānāṃ yena śatrukṣayo bhavet
สูตะกล่าวว่า: “ณ ที่นี้ เราจักสาธยายมหาตมยะอันประเสริฐยิ่งของพระเทวีแก่ท่านทั้งหลาย เพียงได้สดับเท่านั้น มนุษย์ย่อมบรรลุความพินาศแห่งศัตรูทั้งปวง”
Sūta
Listener: Ṛṣis
Scene: Sūta begins narration with a raised hand of assurance; a subtle aura or śakti-wave emanates toward the listening sages, symbolizing ‘enemy-destruction by hearing’; in the background, Devī’s iconographic presence (trident, sword, lion) appears as a visionary overlay.
FAQs
Śravaṇa (devotional listening) of Devī-māhātmya is itself a protective practice that weakens hostile forces—outer and inner.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it introduces a Devī-māhātmya narration within the tīrtha-oriented Nāgara Khaṇḍa.
Hearing (śravaṇa) of the Devī’s māhātmya is presented as a spiritually efficacious act.