Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3
अतीते तु पुरा कल्पे यथेयं वर्ततेऽनघ । अस्यान्त्यस्य च कल्पस्य व्यवस्थां कथय प्रभो । एवमुक्तः सभामध्ये मार्कण्डो वाक्यमब्रवीत्
atīte tu purā kalpe yatheyaṃ vartate'nagha | asyāntyasya ca kalpasya vyavasthāṃ kathaya prabho | evamuktaḥ sabhāmadhye mārkaṇḍo vākyamabravīt
Trong một kiếp xưa đã qua, cũng như hiện nay, hỡi bậc vô tội—xin hãy thuật rõ cả phép tắc và sự an bài của kiếp cuối này nữa, ôi Đấng Tối Thượng. Được thỉnh hỏi giữa hội chúng, Mārkaṇḍa liền nói những lời này.
Narrative transition (Yudhiṣṭhira’s request; then Mārkaṇḍeya is introduced as respondent)
Listener: Ṛṣi-assembly (sabhā) / interlocutor addressing ‘anagha’
Scene: A sage-assembly (sabhā) where a questioner requests the ordinance of the present ‘final’ kalpa; Mārkaṇḍeya prepares to speak, seated among ṛṣis.
FAQs
Purāṇic wisdom is transmitted through disciplined dialogue and lineage; cosmic time is treated as an ordered ‘vyavasthā’ to be understood, not feared.
No specific tīrtha is named; the verse functions as a narrative bridge introducing Mārkaṇḍeya’s teaching within the Revā Khaṇḍa.
None; it introduces the forthcoming exposition by Mārkaṇḍeya.