Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7
समागमे मुनीनां तु देवानां हि तथैव च । कथितं देवदेवेन शितिकण्ठेन भारत । कैलासे पर्वतश्रेष्ठे तत्ते संकथयाम्यहम्
samāgame munīnāṃ tu devānāṃ hi tathaiva ca | kathitaṃ devadevena śitikaṇṭhena bhārata | kailāse parvataśreṣṭhe tatte saṃkathayāmyaham
مُنِیوں کی مجلس میں اور اسی طرح دیوتاؤں کے اجتماع میں، اے بھارت، دیووں کے دیو شِتیکنٹھ (شیو) نے کیلاش، پہاڑوں کے سردار، پر یہ بات کہی تھی؛ وہی حکایت میں اب تمہیں سناتا ہوں۔
Mārkaṇḍeya
Listener: Bhārata (addressed as ‘O Bhārata’)
Scene: On snow-bright Kailāsa, Śitikaṇṭha (blue-throated Śiva) addresses an assembly of devas and munis; the narrator turns to Bhārata to transmit the sacred account.
FAQs
Tīrtha-greatness is revealed through divine discourse and preserved through sage-to-king transmission.
Śuklatīrtha is the topic being introduced; Kailāsa is given as the narrative setting of the original teaching.
None directly; the verse establishes the authority-chain (Śiva → assembly → present narration).