Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 23
कथं राजा स देवेश सप्तद्वीपां वसुन्धराम् । शशास एक एवासौ कथं ते व्याधयः कृताः
kathaṃ rājā sa deveśa saptadvīpāṃ vasundharām | śaśāsa eka evāsau kathaṃ te vyādhayaḥ kṛtāḥ
اے دیوتاؤں کے مالک، وہ بادشاہ اکیلا ہی ساتوں دیپوں والی زمین پر کیسے حکومت کرتا تھا؟ اور وہ بیماریاں کیسے پیدا کی گئیں؟
Devī
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Īśvara (Śiva)
Scene: Devī poses two pointed questions to Īśvara: a solitary king ruling the seven continents and the origin of diseases; the composition shows Devī’s questioning gesture and Śiva’s calm, explanatory posture.
FAQs
Inquiry into dharma and causality is honored; understanding kingship and suffering requires listening to sacred explanation.
The question belongs to the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya narrative cycle, rooted in Prabhāsa’s sanctity.
None; the verse is interrogative, setting up the forthcoming account of causation and royal attainment.