Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1
सूत उवाच । इत्युक्त्वोपररामथ पाण्डोः पुत्राय वै मुनिः । मृकण्डतनयो धीमान्सप्तकल्पस्मरः पुरः
sūta uvāca | ityuktvopararāmatha pāṇḍoḥ putrāya vai muniḥ | mṛkaṇḍatanayo dhīmānsaptakalpasmaraḥ puraḥ
سوت نے کہا: یوں کہہ کر وہ مُنی پانڈو کے پتر کے سامنے خاموش ہو گیا۔ سامنے وہ دانا مارکنڈَیَہ—مِرکنڈُو کا بیٹا—بیٹھا تھا، جو سات کلپوں کے واقعات کو یاد رکھنے والا ہے۔
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sauti)
Tirtha: Revā / Narmadā (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: assembled sages (śaunakādi tradition implied by Sūta frame)
Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya, serene and aged yet radiant, sits before Pāṇḍu’s son; a subtle cosmic backdrop hints at cycles of kalpas—stars, lotus of creation—while the sage concludes and falls silent.
FAQs
Purāṇic authority is grounded in realized sages: Mārkaṇḍeya’s vast memory across kalpas signals timeless dharma and trustworthy tīrtha-glory.
The verse is a narrative transition; it introduces Mārkaṇḍeya, who has been speaking about Revā/Narmadā and her tīrthas.
None; it is a framing verse identifying the speaker and listener and concluding a prior statement.