Adhyaya 173
In a Śaiva theological discourse, Īśvara instructs Devī in a compact pilgrimage to four liṅgas located in a single place west of Sāvitrī. The chapter marks their positions by direction—two to the east and two to the west, facing accordingly—and names them in order: Kuśakeśvara, Gargeśvara, Puṣkareśvara, and Maitreyēśvara. It declares the phala: one who beholds these liṅgas with bhakti and self-restraint is freed from sins and attains Śiva’s exalted abode. As the practical completion of the vow, it prescribes that on the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight—especially in Vaiśākha—one should bathe with effort, feed brāhmaṇas, and give gifts according to one’s means, such as gold and garments. When these duties are fulfilled, the yātrā is said to be complete, joining darśana with calendrical observance and social dharma.
Shlokas
Verse 1
ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि लिंगानां च चतुष्टयम् । एकस्थानस्थितानां तु सावित्र्यास्तत्र पश्चिमे
Īśvara said: “Then, O Mahādevī, one should go to the group of four liṅgas, all situated in a single place—there, to the west of Sāvitrī.”
Verse 2
लिंगानां द्वितयं पूर्वे पश्चिमे सम्मुखद्वयम् । कुशकेश्वरनामेति लिंगं वै प्रथमं स्मृतम्
Two of the liṅgas are on the eastern side, and two are opposite on the western side. The first liṅga is remembered by the name Kuśakeśvara.
Verse 3
गर्गेश्वरं द्वितीयं तु तृतीयं पुष्करेश्वरम् । मैत्रेयेश्वरनामेति चतुर्थं समुदाहृतम्
The second is Gargeśvara; the third is Puṣkareśvara. The fourth is declared to be named Maitreyeśvara.
Verse 4
एतानि यस्तु लिंगानि पश्येद्भक्त्या जितेन्द्रियः । स मुक्तः पातकैः सर्वैर्गच्छेच्छिवपुरं महत्
But whoever, self-controlled and devoted, beholds these liṅgas—he is freed from all sins and goes to the great city of Śiva (Śiva’s abode).
Verse 5
शुक्लपक्षे चतुर्दश्यां वैशाखे तु विशेषतः । स्नानं कृत्वा प्रयत्नेन ब्राह्मणांस्तत्र भोजयेत्
Especially on the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight in Vaiśākha, having bathed, one should earnestly feed the Brahmins there.
Verse 6
तेभ्यो दद्याद्यथाशक्त्या काञ्चनं वसनानि च । एवं कृते भवेद्यात्रा परिपूर्णा सुरेश्वरि
To them one should give, according to one’s capacity, gold and garments. When this is done, O Goddess of the gods, the pilgrimage becomes complete.
Verse 173
इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां सप्तमे प्रभासखंडे प्रथमे प्रभासक्षेत्रमाहात्म्ये कुशकादिलिंगचतुष्टयमाहात्म्यवर्णनंनाम त्रिसप्तत्युत्तरततमोऽध्यायः
Thus, in the holy Skanda Mahāpurāṇa—within the eighty-one-thousand-verse Saṃhitā—ends the 173rd chapter in the seventh, Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, in the first section entitled the Māhātmya of Prabhāsa-kṣetra, known as “The Description of the Greatness of the Four Liṅgas beginning with Kuśaka.”