Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

सूत उवाच । कथयामि कथामेतां शृणुत द्विज सत्तमाः । अस्ति विंध्य इति ख्यातः पर्वतः पृथिवीतले

sūta uvāca | kathayāmi kathāmetāṃ śṛṇuta dvija sattamāḥ | asti viṃdhya iti khyātaḥ parvataḥ pṛthivītale

สูตะกล่าวว่า “เราจักเล่าเรื่องนี้ให้ฟัง—จงสดับเถิด โอ้ท่านผู้ประเสริฐในหมู่ทวิชะทั้งหลาย บนพื้นพิภพมียอดเขาหนึ่งเลื่องชื่อว่า วินธยะ”

sūtaḥSūta
sūtaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootsūta (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन
uvācasaid
uvāca:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootvac (वच् धातु)
Formलिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद
kathayāmiI narrate
kathayāmi:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootkathaya (कथय धातु/णिजन्त from kath)
Formलट्-लकार, उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद
kathāmstory
kathām:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootkathā (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन
etāmthis
etām:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootetad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; 'kathām' इत्यस्य विशेषण
śṛṇutalisten
śṛṇuta:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootśru (श्रु धातु)
Formलोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद
dvijaO twice-born
dvija:
Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
TypeNoun
Rootdvija (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन
sattamāḥO best (ones)
sattamāḥ:
Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
TypeNoun
Rootsat (प्रातिपदिक) + tama (तमप् प्रत्यय)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तमप्-प्रत्ययान्त (superlative): 'best'
astithere is
asti:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootas (अस् धातु)
Formलट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद
viṃdhyaḥVindhya
viṃdhyaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootviṃdhya (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन
itithus/so-called
iti:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootiti (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; इति-प्रयोग (quotative particle)
khyātaḥknown as
khyātaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeAdjective
Rootkhyā (ख्या धातु) → khyāta (क्त कृदन्त)
Formक्त-प्रत्ययान्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; 'viṃdhyaḥ' इत्यस्य विशेषण
parvataḥmountain
parvataḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootparvata (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; 'viṃdhyaḥ' इत्यस्य अप्पोजिशन
pṛthivī-taleon the earth's surface
pṛthivī-tale:
Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootpṛthivī (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
Formतत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sūta narrator)

Tirtha: Vindhya (setting for the forthcoming tīrtha account)

Type: peak

Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ / ṛṣis

Scene: Sūta, seated in a forest assembly, begins the tale by pointing toward a vast mountain mass—Vindhya—rising across the horizon, establishing the setting.

V
Vindhya (Mountain)

FAQs

Sacred history is transmitted through attentive listening (śravaṇa), which becomes a gateway to understanding tīrtha-māhātmya.

The narrative begins with Vindhya mountain, a key sacred landscape connected to later tīrtha significance.

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the instruction is to listen carefully to the purāṇic account.