ततो महेश्वरः प्रीतः प्राह स्कंदस्य श्रृण्वतः । चतुर्दश्यां कृष्णपक्षे मधौ चैवात्र यो नरः । स्नात्वोपोष्य समभ्यर्च्य कपालेश्वरमीश्वरीम्
tato maheśvaraḥ prītaḥ prāha skaṃdasya śrṛṇvataḥ | caturdaśyāṃ kṛṣṇapakṣe madhau caivātra yo naraḥ | snātvopoṣya samabhyarcya kapāleśvaramīśvarīm
Then Maheśvara, pleased, spoke as Skanda listened: “On caturdaśī, the fourteenth lunar day of the dark fortnight, in the month of Madhu, whoever bathes here, keeps the upavāsa-fast, and duly worships Kapāleśvara and the Goddess…”
Maheśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Kapāleśvara–Śakticchidra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Skanda
Scene: Maheśvara, pleased, instructs the observance while Skanda listens; in the background, a tīrtha pool and the Kapāleśvara liṅga with a nearby Devī shrine indicate the paired worship.
Śiva-centered observances combine tīrtha-snān, fasting, and worship to purify and elevate the devotee.
The Kapāleśvara sacred area (with the associated tīrtha context of the chapter).
On Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa Caturdaśī in Madhu month: bathe at the site, fast, and worship Kapāleśvara along with the Goddess.