Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 26
तथा प्रेतैश्च भूतैश्च कपटैः परिवारिता । वीरभद्रादयश्चैव गणाः परमदारुणाः । ये दक्षयज्ञनाशार्थे शिवेनाज्ञापितास्तदा
tathā pretaiśca bhūtaiśca kapaṭaiḥ parivāritā | vīrabhadrādayaścaiva gaṇāḥ paramadāruṇāḥ | ye dakṣayajñanāśārthe śivenājñāpitāstadā
Ebenso war sie von Pretas und Bhūtas sowie von trügerischen, furchterregenden Wesen umgeben. Vīrabhadra und die übrigen Gaṇas—überaus schrecklich—waren jene, die Śiva damals zur Zerstörung von Dakṣas Opfer (yajña) befohlen hatte.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa), per Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative convention
Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A terrifying procession of Śiva’s gaṇas—Vīrabhadra at the fore—surrounded by Pretas and Bhūtas, moving with the mandate to shatter Dakṣa’s sacrifice; smoke, ash, and broken yajña implements implied.
FAQs
Dharma cannot be upheld by pride-filled ritual alone; when sacrifice is severed from reverence and humility, it collapses under divine justice.
Kedāra-kṣetra is the narrative setting; the verse connects Kedāra’s Śaiva mahatmya to the wider Śiva mythos (Dakṣa-yajña).
No; rather, it warns implicitly that yajña must be aligned with devotion and proper honor to Śiva.