Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 40
लिंगस्य मस्तकं दृष्टं देवानां च मृषा वदेः । ते सर्वे यदि वक्ष्यंति इंद्राद्या देवतागणाः
liṃgasya mastakaṃ dṛṣṭaṃ devānāṃ ca mṛṣā vadeḥ | te sarve yadi vakṣyaṃti iṃdrādyā devatāgaṇāḥ
„Ich werde den Göttern fälschlich sagen, ich hätte das Haupt des Liṅga gesehen—wenn alle Scharen der Gottheiten, an Indra beginnend, es ebenso bezeugen.“
Brahmā (implied internal resolve in the narrative)
Tirtha: Kedāra-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Audience within the Skanda Purāṇa frame
Scene: Brahmā, calculating, turns toward the assembled devas; Indra and others appear as potential supporters; the endless liṅga looms, contrasting truth with intended lie.
FAQs
False testimony (mṛṣā-vāda) is a breach of Dharma, especially when used to gain prestige before divine assemblies.
The Kedāra region is the narrative frame; the ethical teaching supports the Mahātmya by showing how the divine presence exposes untruth.
None; the verse concerns moral choice and collective complicity.