Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 25
क्षोणी रथो विधिर्यंता शरोऽहं मन्दरो धनुः । रथांगे चापि चंद्रार्कौ युद्धे यस्य च त्रैपुरे
kṣoṇī ratho vidhiryaṃtā śaro'haṃ mandaro dhanuḥ | rathāṃge cāpi caṃdrārkau yuddhe yasya ca traipure
In His battle against Tripura: the earth was His chariot, Brahmā the charioteer, I (Viṣṇu) became His arrow, Mount Mandara His bow, and the moon and sun were the wheels of His chariot.
Viṣṇu (first-person 'aham' indicates Viṣṇu speaking within the narrative frame)
Tirtha: Tripurāntaka (mythic event-site rather than a single fixed tīrtha)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Tripurāntaka tableau: Śiva stands poised with Mandara as bow, Viṣṇu as the blazing arrow, Earth as chariot, Brahmā as charioteer, Sun and Moon as wheels, the triple cities in the distance.
FAQs
All cosmic powers—devas, planets, mountains, and even Viṣṇu—serve the Supreme purpose when Śiva acts for dharma.
No single tīrtha is named; the verse glorifies the Tripura-dahana episode central to Śaiva theology.
None; it is a mythic-theological praise describing Śiva’s supremacy in the Tripura battle.