Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 27
भगवन्कलिकालेऽस्मिन्सर्वपापसमन्विते । वर्षपापविशुद्ध्यर्थं दिनमेकं क्षितौ व्रज । येन त्वत्पूजया पूता मर्त्याः शुद्धिमवाप्नुयुः
bhagavankalikāle'sminsarvapāpasamanvite | varṣapāpaviśuddhyarthaṃ dinamekaṃ kṣitau vraja | yena tvatpūjayā pūtā martyāḥ śuddhimavāpnuyuḥ
O seliger Herr, in diesem Kali-Zeitalter, das von allen Sünden erfüllt ist, steige für nur einen Tag zur Erde herab, damit durch Deine Verehrung die Sterblichen gereinigt werden und Läuterung von den Sünden eines ganzen Jahres erlangen.
The Devas (collectively) addressing Śiva (deduced from surrounding ‘suraiḥ sarvaiḥ’ context)
Tirtha: Māgha-kṛṣṇa-caturdaśī (Śivarātri night)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaṅkara (Śiva)
Scene: Devas (or a divine supplicant) petition Śaṅkara to descend in Kali-yuga for one day so that human worship may cleanse a year’s sins; the earth below is shown burdened by darkness, while Śiva’s compassion radiates downward.
FAQs
In Kali Yuga, divine grace is made accessible through a concentrated sacred observance that purifies even heavy moral burden.
The emphasis is on Śiva’s descent ‘to the earth’ and the sacred time; no single tīrtha is named in this verse.
Śiva-pūjā on the divinely appointed occasion meant for cleansing the sins of a year.