Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 18
निमित्तमात्रं च कृतं तया वै शिवपूजने । एतच्छ्रुत्वा वचस्तस्यामेनायाः परिभाषितम्
nimittamātraṃ ca kṛtaṃ tayā vai śivapūjane | etacchrutvā vacastasyāmenāyāḥ paribhāṣitam
Im Gottesdienst für Śiva hat sie wahrlich nur als Werkzeug gewirkt. Als man diese von Menā gesprochenen Worte vernahm, …
Menā (first half); second half is narrator transition (deduced)
Tirtha: Kedāra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Himādri and ṛṣis (in-scene)
Scene: Menā’s statement is heard: the maiden’s worship was merely instrumental; the scene turns toward the father’s response—quiet, reflective, doctrinally charged.
FAQs
The devotee’s role is ultimately instrumentality—Śiva is the true doer, and grace works through the surrendered heart.
The Kedārakhaṇḍa setting keeps Kedāra’s Śaiva atmosphere central, though the verse emphasizes theology rather than locality.
Śiva-pūjā is referenced, with the teaching that the worshipper functions as “nimitta-mātra” (instrument) in that worship.