Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7
श्रीमहादेव उवाच । परितुष्टोऽस्मि ते विप्र भक्त्या तव द्विजोत्तम । वरं वरय भद्रं ते यद्यपि स्यात्सुदुर्लभम्
śrīmahādeva uvāca | parituṣṭo'smi te vipra bhaktyā tava dvijottama | varaṃ varaya bhadraṃ te yadyapi syātsudurlabham
Śrī Mahādeva sprach: „O Brahmane, Bester unter den Zweimalgeborenen, durch deine Hingabe (bhakti) bin Ich völlig zufrieden. Wähle eine Gabe — Heil sei dir — selbst wenn sie äußerst schwer zu erlangen ist.“
Śiva (Mahādeva)
Tirtha: Arbuda vara-sthāna (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: A brāhmaṇa devotee (Śukra in the immediate narrative)
Scene: Śiva stands before the brāhmaṇa devotee, right hand in boon-giving gesture (varada-mudrā); the devotee stands with folded hands; the cave-shrine and liṅga remain nearby, incense smoke lingering.
FAQs
Bhakti is presented as the highest force that compels divine grace and makes even the rare attainable.
The Arbuda-khaṇḍa sacred setting is implied as a powerful arena for tapas and bhakti that leads to Śiva’s direct boon.
No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes devotion as the qualifying discipline for receiving a boon.