Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12
पुरा राथंतरे कल्पे यदभूदत्र तच्छृणु । अपर्णे दत्तकर्णा त्वं वर्णयामि तवाग्रतः
purā rāthaṃtare kalpe yadabhūdatra tacchṛṇu | aparṇe dattakarṇā tvaṃ varṇayāmi tavāgrataḥ
راثنتر کلپ میں بہت پہلے یہاں جو کچھ ہوا تھا، وہ سنو۔ اے اپرنا، پوری توجہ سے سنو؛ میں تمہارے سامنے اس کا بیان کرتا ہوں۔
Śiva (deduced from direct address to Aparṇā = Pārvatī, common Śiva–Pārvatī frame)
Listener: Aparṇā (Pārvatī)
Scene: Skanda addresses Aparṇā (Pārvatī), inviting attentive listening; behind them, a stylized map-like Kāśī landscape with a highlighted lake/ghāṭ. A cosmic backdrop hints at kalpa-time—stars, lotus of creation, and a scroll-like narrative unfurling.
FAQs
Sacred places are explained through kalpa-based divine history; attentive listening to dharma-kathā is itself meritorious.
The immediate setting remains the ‘here’ of the chapter—Kāśī’s Hara-pāpa-hrada region—whose origin story is about to be told.
No ritual is prescribed; it introduces a purāṇic account to be heard with attention.