Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5
ऋषय ऊचुः । माहिषेण स्वरूपेण किंजातः सूतनंदन । अथवा शापदोषेण सञ्जातः केनचिद्वद
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | māhiṣeṇa svarūpeṇa kiṃjātaḥ sūtanaṃdana | athavā śāpadoṣeṇa sañjātaḥ kenacidvada
เหล่าฤๅษีกล่าวว่า: “โอ สูตนন্দน เหตุใดเขาจึงบังเกิดด้วยรูปมหิษะ? หรือว่าเป็นเพราะโทษแห่งคำสาปของผู้ใด จงบอกแก่เราด้วย”
Ṛṣis (the sages)
Listener: Sūta
Scene: Sages lean forward, one pointing as if distinguishing two causal paths—‘natural form’ vs ‘curse’; Sūta listens poised to answer; behind them a symbolic split-panel: one side lineage-tree of asuras, other side a sage pronouncing a curse with a glowing word-stream.
FAQs
Purāṇic storytelling links form and fate to causality—karma, śāpa, and moral history—inviting reflective inquiry rather than mere spectacle.
None directly; it is a narrative inquiry that precedes the Devī-māhātmya explanation.
None; it is a question about origin and causation.