Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3
भद्रकर्णगणोनाम पुरासीच्छिववल्लभः । तेनात्र स्थापितं लिंगं ह्रदश्चैव विनिर्मितः
bhadrakarṇagaṇonāma purāsīcchivavallabhaḥ | tenātra sthāpitaṃ liṃgaṃ hradaścaiva vinirmitaḥ
Formerly there was a gaṇa named Bhadrakarṇa, beloved of Śiva. It was he who established the liṅga here and also caused this lake to be fashioned.
Pulastya
Tirtha: Bhadrakarṇa Hrada and Bhadrakarṇa-liṅga (associated)
Type: kund
Listener: Nṛpaśreṣṭha (king)
Scene: A divine gaṇa named Bhadrakarṇa, fierce yet benevolent, installs a liṅga and commands the shaping of a lake; celestial workers/gaṇas carve channels and embankments.
FAQs
Holy places are depicted as consciously established through devotion—Śiva’s attendants themselves consecrate tīrthas for the world’s welfare.
Bhadrakarṇa Mahāhrada and the liṅga established there (Bhadrakarṇeśvara).
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse provides tīrtha-etymology and foundation history.