Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 38
स नदीः पर्वताश्चैव आश्रमान्सरसीस्तथा । परिभ्रमन्महादेवः पृष्ठस्थं तमवैक्षत
sa nadīḥ parvatāścaiva āśramānsarasīstathā | paribhramanmahādevaḥ pṛṣṭhasthaṃ tamavaikṣata
Er wanderte über Flüsse und Berge, Einsiedeleien und Seen; und während Mahādeva umherzog, sah er ihn stets hinter sich stehen.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages (deduced)
Listener: Pāṇḍunandana (addressed later in the sequence; narrative is being told to a Pāṇḍava)
Scene: Mahādeva strides through a shifting sacred landscape—riverbanks, mountain passes, hermitages, lotus lakes—yet repeatedly turns to see a figure steadfastly behind him, unshaken by terrain or distance.
FAQs
Restlessness cannot escape inner conflict; the pursuer (desire) follows until it is consciously faced and resolved.
No single site is named; the verse evokes sacred geography broadly—rivers, mountains, āśramas, and lakes as sanctified spaces.
None; it is descriptive of movement through sacred landscapes.