Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2
तस्योत्पत्तिं प्रवक्ष्यामि शृणुष्वैकमनाः प्रिये । सृजतो ब्रह्मणः पूर्वं भूतग्रामं चतुर्विधम्
tasyotpattiṃ pravakṣyāmi śṛṇuṣvaikamanāḥ priye | sṛjato brahmaṇaḥ pūrvaṃ bhūtagrāmaṃ caturvidham
Ta sẽ nói về nguồn gốc của điều ấy—hỡi người yêu dấu, hãy lắng nghe với tâm nhất niệm. Thuở trước, khi Phạm Thiên (Brahmā) đang tạo dựng bốn loại chúng sinh…
Īśvara (Śiva)
Listener: Devī (priye)
Scene: Śiva begins an origin tale to Devī: behind them, a visionary tableau of Brahmā creating beings—fourfold groups emerging—superimposed over the Sarasvatī-bank landscape, indicating mythic time layered onto place.
FAQs
Māhātmya is rooted in sacred origins: tīrthas and divine manifestations are explained through cosmic and dharmic history.
The ‘previously mentioned’ Brahmā-worshipped site on the Sarasvatī bank in Prabhāsa Kṣetra; its origin is about to be narrated.
No rite is prescribed here; it introduces an origin narration and calls for attentive listening (śravaṇa).