Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17
कस्मिंश्चिदथ संप्राप्ते कथांते ते मुनीश्वराः । पप्रच्छुर्भूमिपालं तु कौतूहलसमन्विताः
kasmiṃścidatha saṃprāpte kathāṃte te munīśvarāḥ | papracchurbhūmipālaṃ tu kautūhalasamanvitāḥ
ครั้นเมื่อการสนทนามาถึงตอนหนึ่ง เหล่ามุนีผู้เป็นใหญ่ทั้งหลายซึ่งเปี่ยมด้วยความใคร่รู้ ก็ได้ทูลถามพระราชาผู้ครองแผ่นดิน
Narratorial voice within Māhātmya (exact speaker not stated in snippet)
Listener: Purāṇa audience; internally, the king is the respondent
Scene: Sages lean forward with attentive curiosity, gesturing as they pose a question to the seated king; the sabhā pauses at a narrative turning point.
FAQs
Dharma is clarified through respectful questioning in the company of sages—curiosity becomes a vehicle for truth.
The questioning occurs within the Mahākāla tīrtha setting established earlier in the adhyāya.
No direct prescription yet; it introduces a question that will elicit ritual details.