Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 17
प्राह तान्बालरूपांश्च बालरूपी महेश्वरः । स्वर्गेषु पंचविशानां पातालेषु च तावताम्
prāha tānbālarūpāṃśca bālarūpī maheśvaraḥ | svargeṣu paṃcaviśānāṃ pātāleṣu ca tāvatām
Maheśvara, selbst in Kindgestalt, sprach zu jenen kindlichen Gestalten: „In den Himmeln sollen für fünfundzwanzig von euch—und in den Unterwelten (Pātāla) ebenso, in gleicher Zahl—eure Stätten sein.“
Bāla-Maheśvara (Śiva in child form)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Child-formed Maheśvara addresses a circle of child-forms, assigning them stations in the heavens and netherworlds; the scene feels like a cosmic court where guardians receive their jurisdictions.
FAQs
Protection of dharma is organized across all realms; divine order extends from heaven to the netherworlds.
No specific tīrtha; the verse describes cosmic placement of guardians.
None.