Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 42
अत्र वः कीर्तयिष्यामि पुरावृत्तं कथानकम् । यद्वृत्तं नैमिषारण्ये लुब्धकस्यात्र कस्यचित्
atra vaḥ kīrtayiṣyāmi purāvṛttaṃ kathānakam | yadvṛttaṃ naimiṣāraṇye lubdhakasyātra kasyacit
บัดนี้เราจักเล่าเรื่องโบราณให้ท่านทั้งหลายฟัง—เหตุที่เกิดขึ้น ณ ไนมิษารัณยะ เกี่ยวกับนายพรานผู้หนึ่งที่นั่น
Narrator (deduced; transition into a well-known Śivarātri hunter story)
Tirtha: Naimiṣāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Listener: assembled listeners (implied)
Scene: A narrator begins an ancient tale set in the holy forest of Naimiṣa, evoking sages, sacrificial fires, and the hush of a sacred grove before introducing a hunter’s episode.
FAQs
Purāṇic teaching often uses exemplary stories; even unlikely persons can be uplifted through contact with sacred observance and place.
Naimiṣāraṇya is explicitly mentioned as the setting of the forthcoming episode.
No direct prescription in this verse; it introduces a narrative that will illustrate Śivarātri’s power and dharmic merit.