Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 52
निजन्मुः सहसा तत्र यज्ञवाटं महाप्रभम् । वीरभद्रसमेता सर्वे हरपराक्रमाः । दशबाहवस्त्रिनेत्रा जटिला रुद्रभूषणाः
nijanmuḥ sahasā tatra yajñavāṭaṃ mahāprabham | vīrabhadrasametā sarve haraparākramāḥ | daśabāhavastrinetrā jaṭilā rudrabhūṣaṇāḥ
Plötzlich drangen sie dort ein—in die strahlende, machtvolle Opferstätte. Alle, von Vīrabhadra begleitet, waren erfüllt von Haras (Śivas) Heldenkraft: zehnarmig, dreiäugig, mit verfilzten Locken, geschmückt mit Rudras Insignien.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa style)
Tirtha: Kedāra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis/seekers
Scene: A dramatic breach: Vīrabhadra and Rudra-like hosts burst into the radiant yajña enclosure—ten-armed, three-eyed, matted-haired, bearing Rudra’s ornaments—filling the space with overwhelming Śaiva power.
FAQs
Puranic dharma teaches that ritual power (yajña) is incomplete without reverence to Śiva; divine authority can overrule prideful ceremony.
The broader narrative sits in Kedārakhaṇḍa, linked to Kedāra sacred geography, though this verse specifically depicts the yajña-enclosure scene rather than a named tīrtha.
No direct prescription (vrata/dāna/snānajapa) is stated; the focus is narrative description of the sacrificial arena and Śiva’s gaṇa-like forces.