Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 7
पाणिभ्यां परितः प्रपीड्य सुदृढं निश्चोत्य निश्चोत्य च ब्रह्मांडं सकलं पचेलिमरसालोच्चैः फलाभं मुहुः । पायंपायमपायतस्त्रिजगतीमुन्मत्तवत्तै रसैर्नृत्यंस्तांडवडंबरेण विधिनापायान्महाभैरवः
pāṇibhyāṃ paritaḥ prapīḍya sudṛḍhaṃ niścotya niścotya ca brahmāṃḍaṃ sakalaṃ pacelimarasāloccaiḥ phalābhaṃ muhuḥ | pāyaṃpāyamapāyatastrijagatīmunmattavattai rasairnṛtyaṃstāṃḍavaḍaṃbareṇa vidhināpāyānmahābhairavaḥ
Pressing hard with both hands all around, squeezing again and again, Mahābhairava, as it were, draws out and cooks the entire cosmic egg, repeatedly bringing forth its essence like the rich juice of ripe fruit. Drinking and drinking those intoxicating nectars, he dances—by ordained rite—with the thunderous display of the Tāṇḍava, while the three worlds reel.
Skanda (contextual, Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration)
Tirtha: Mahābhairava (Kāśī kṣetra-pāla)
Type: kshetra
Listener: The devotee/sage
Scene: Mahābhairava, colossal and radiant-dark, grips and ‘presses’ the cosmic egg, extracting its essence like ripe fruit-juice; intoxicated by nectars, he performs a thunderous Tāṇḍava as the three worlds sway in awe.
FAQs
Bhairava is portrayed as the transcendent power who churns and governs creation itself; the universe is subordinate to Śiva’s fierce grace.
The immediate setting is Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Bhairava Māhātmya, implicitly tied to Kāśī where Bhairava is central to sacred protection.
No direct prescription; the verse is a stotra-like poetic visualization supporting contemplation and devotional recitation.