Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 39
तैजसी शांभवी मूर्तिः प्रत्यक्षा दहनात्मिका । कर्त्री हंत्री पालयित्री विनैनां किं विलोक्यते
taijasī śāṃbhavī mūrtiḥ pratyakṣā dahanātmikā | kartrī haṃtrī pālayitrī vinaināṃ kiṃ vilokyate
Diese strahlende Gestalt ist Śāmbhavī — Śivas eigene Gegenwart — vor Augen offenbar als das Wesen des brennenden Feuers. Sie ist die Handelnde, die Zerstörerin und die Beschützerin; ohne Sie, was könnte überhaupt gesehen oder erkannt werden?
Gaṇas (Śiva’s attendants), contextually explaining to Śivaśarman
Scene: A radiant, fire-essence Śāmbhavī presence—seen as living flame—standing as the tri-functional power (creation-destruction-protection) while devotees gaze in reverent astonishment.
FAQs
All perception and cosmic functions—creation, protection, and dissolution—are expressions of Śiva’s manifest power (Śakti), here revealed as sacred fire.
The verse belongs to the Kāśīkhaṇḍa and supports the Kāśī Māhātmya theme: Kāśī as the place where Śiva’s presence is directly manifest.
No explicit rite is prescribed in this verse; it establishes the theological basis for reverence to Agni as Śiva’s visible power.