Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 32
तेन तस्य हि जातानि शिरांसि सुबहून्यपि । एकपद्येन तेषां च स्रजं कृत्वा मनोहराम् । बबंध शंभुः शिरसि शिरोभूषणवत्कृतम्
tena tasya hi jātāni śirāṃsi subahūnyapi | ekapadyena teṣāṃ ca srajaṃ kṛtvā manoharām | babaṃdha śaṃbhuḥ śirasi śirobhūṣaṇavatkṛtam
Daraus entstanden ihm wahrlich viele Köpfe. Und mit nur einer einzigen Girlandenschnur formte Śambhu daraus einen anmutigen Kranz und band ihn sich selbst aufs Haupt, wie ein kronengleiches Schmuckstück.
Lomaharṣaṇa Sūta (deduced: narrative voice)
Tirtha: Kedāra/Kedāranātha
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrim-audience/ṛṣi interlocutors (implied)
Scene: From the released amṛta/act, multiple heads manifest for Rāhu; Śambhu strings them on a single cord into a beautiful wreath and places it on His own head like a regal crown-ornament—terrible yet enchanting.
FAQs
Śiva transforms fearsome symbols into sacred ornaments, showing mastery over death and the power to sanctify even the terrifying.
Kedārakhaṇḍa’s Śaiva mahātmya context: the iconography supports the region’s devotion to Mahādeva as the supreme protector.
No ritual is prescribed; the verse explains a mythic origin and symbolism.