Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 185
कोटिकोटिगणैश्चैव स्तुवद्भिः सर्वतो वृतः
koṭikoṭigaṇaiścaiva stuvadbhiḥ sarvato vṛtaḥ
And he was surrounded on every side by crores upon crores of hosts, all offering hymns of praise.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Mahākāla (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sages (outer frame)
Scene: A vast ring of innumerable celestial hosts around Mahākāla, all singing hymns; the deity remains still at the center while the multitude forms a living mandala.
FAQs
The sacred becomes a center of universal convergence—praise and devotion multiply when the divine is manifest.
The verse sits in the Mahākāla-liṅga narrative stream, tied to Mahākāla’s famed sacred region (Ujjain tradition).
No explicit ritual is stated; the emphasis is on stuti (devotional praise) as a dharmic response to divine manifestation.