Adhyaya 127
Chapter 127 presents a brief theological and geographical instruction: Īśvara speaks to Devī and points to an eminent liṅga named Kṣemeśvara, also praised under the māhātmya of Kṣemakareśvara. The shrine is located by relational markers—at the northern corner relative to Kapāleśa, within Kapāleśa’s ritual/visible range, and at a distance of “fifteen bows.” This liṅga is declared mahāprabhāva (highly efficacious) and explicitly sarva-pātaka-nāśana, the destroyer of all sins. An origin legend follows: a powerful king, Kṣemamūrti, performed long tapas there and, with devotion and focused resolve, established the liṅga. Mere darśana brings kṣema (welfare and auspicious stability), success in completing undertakings, prosperity of desired aims across births, and saubhāgya. The text equates simply seeing the liṅga with the merit of gifting a hundred cows, and urges seekers of kṣetra-fruit to take continual refuge in this liṅga.
Shlokas
Verse 1
ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि क्षेमेश्वरमनुत्तमम् । तस्मादुत्तरकोणस्थं कपालेशाग्निगोचरे
Īśvara said: “Then, O Great Goddess, one should go to the unsurpassed Kṣemeśvara. From there it is in the northern corner, within the vicinity and line of sight of Kapāleśa and Agni.”
Verse 2
धनुषां पंचदशके कपालेश्वरतः स्थितम् । लिंगं महाप्रभावं हि सर्वपातकनाशनम्
At a distance of fifteen dhanuṣ from Kapāleśvara stands a liṅga of truly great power, the destroyer of all grave sins.
Verse 3
क्षेममूर्तिः पुरा राजा बभूव स महाबलः । तेन तत्र तपस्तप्तं चिरकालं महात्मना
In former times there was a king named Kṣemamūrti, mighty in strength. That high-souled ruler performed austerities there for a very long time.
Verse 4
ततः संस्थापितं लिंगं भक्त्या भावितचेतसा । तद्दृष्ट्वा क्षेममायाति कार्यं क्षेमेण सिद्ध्यति
Then, with a mind suffused with devotion, he established a liṅga. By beholding it, kṣema—welfare and auspicious security—arises, and one’s undertakings are fulfilled in well-being.
Verse 5
सर्वकामसमृद्धात्मा भूया ज्जन्मनिजन्मनि । एवं क्षेमेश्वरं लिंगं ख्यातं पातकनाशनम्
May one be fulfilled with all desired aims, birth after birth. Thus is the liṅga known as Kṣemeśvara, famed as a destroyer of sins.
Verse 6
सर्वकामप्रदं नृणां श्रुतं सौभाग्यदायकम् । दर्शनेनापि तस्यापि गोशतस्य फलं स्मृतम्
It is heard to grant people every desired aim and to bestow auspicious good fortune. Even by its mere darśana, the merit is remembered to equal the fruit of gifting a hundred cows.
Verse 7
तस्मात्क्षेत्रफलाकांक्षी नित्यं तल्लिंगमाश्रयेत्
Therefore, one who longs for the fruit of the sacred kṣetra should always take refuge in that liṅga.
Verse 127
इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां सप्तमे प्रभासखण्डे प्रथमे प्रभासक्षेत्रमाहात्म्ये क्षेमंकरेश्वरमाहात्म्यवर्णनंनाम सप्तविंशत्युत्तरशततमोऽध्यायः
Thus ends the one-hundred-and-twenty-seventh chapter, called “The Description of the Greatness of Kṣemaṅkareśvara,” in the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa of the Śrī Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, within the Ekāśītisāhasrī Saṃhitā, in the first division titled Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya.