Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 48
ततो जगामाशु महाधनुर्द्धरो विस्फार्य चापं कुसुमान्वितं महत् । तथैव बाणांश्च मनोरमांश्च प्रगृह्य वीरो भुवनैकजेता । तस्मिन्हिमाद्रौ परिदृश्यमानोऽवनौ स्मरो योधयतां वरिष्ठः
tato jagāmāśu mahādhanurddharo visphārya cāpaṃ kusumānvitaṃ mahat | tathaiva bāṇāṃśca manoramāṃśca pragṛhya vīro bhuvanaikajetā | tasminhimādrau paridṛśyamāno'vanau smaro yodhayatāṃ variṣṭhaḥ
Dann zog er eilends dahin, den großen Bogen tragend; er spannte den mächtigen, mit Blumen geschmückten Bogen und ergriff zugleich liebliche Pfeile. Jener Held — der einzige Bezwinger der Welten — wurde dort am Himalaya gesehen: Smara, der Vortrefflichste unter denen, die mit betörender Macht kämpfen.
Sūta (narration; deduced)
Tirtha: Himādri within Kedāra-kṣetra frame
Type: peak
Listener: Ṛṣis (frame)
Scene: Madana on the Himalayan slope, drawing a massive flower-adorned bow; he holds charming arrows, poised like a warrior, yet his ‘battle’ is enchantment. The snowy peaks witness the paradox of beauty as weapon.
FAQs
It dramatizes desire’s seductive power, preparing the theological point that Śiva’s yogic mastery transcends even the most refined enchantments.
The Himālaya (Himādri) sacred landscape, within the Kedārakhaṇḍa’s pilgrimage geography tied to Kedāra.
None.