Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3
ऋषय ऊचुः । त्रयाणां चैव लिंगानां पूर्वोक्तानां महामते । श्रुतास्माभिः समुत्पत्तिःकपालेश्वरवर्जिता । केनायं स्थापितो देवः कपालेश्वरसंज्ञितः
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | trayāṇāṃ caiva liṃgānāṃ pūrvoktānāṃ mahāmate | śrutāsmābhiḥ samutpattiḥkapāleśvaravarjitā | kenāyaṃ sthāpito devaḥ kapāleśvarasaṃjñitaḥ
ঋষিসকলে ক’লে: হে মহামতে! পূৰ্বে উল্লিখিত তিন লিঙ্গৰ উৎপত্তি আমি শুনিলোঁ, কিন্তু কপালেশ্বৰ ব্যতীত। এই কপালেশ্বৰ নামে দেৱতা কোনে স্থাপন কৰিলে?
Ṛṣis (Sages)
Tirtha: Kapāleśvara
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūta (implied respondent)
Scene: A circle of ṛṣis respectfully question the sūta/narrator about the missing origin of Kapāleśvara among previously described liṅgas; palm-leaf manuscripts and a forest-āśrama setting frame the inquiry.
FAQs
Sacred geography is preserved through inquiry and transmission: asking about a liṅga’s स्थापना safeguards the site’s dharmic memory.
Kapāleśvara within the broader Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra tīrtha landscape of the Nāgara-khaṇḍa.
No direct ritual is prescribed here; the verse initiates the legend by asking who performed the स्थापना (installation) of Kapāleśvara.