Adhyaya 174
Īśvara instructs Devī about a distinguished liṅga named Kuntīśvara in the Prabhāsa kṣetra. It is described as being in the eastern sector and set within a “khāta,” a dug or recessed emplacement. The shrine’s sanctity is grounded in its founding memory: Kuntī is said to have established (pratiṣṭhita) this liṅga, and the Pāṇḍavas are recalled as having earlier come to Prabhāsa on pilgrimage together with Kuntī. The teaching then turns to phalaśruti, the declaration of spiritual fruits. Kuntīśvara is praised as removing fear of all sins, with special emphasis on worship in the month of Kārttika; one who performs pūjā then is said to attain desired aims and be honored in Rudra’s realm. Finally, the text universalizes its purifying power by stating that sins of speech, mind, and action are destroyed by the mere darśana of this liṅga, presenting reverent sight and worship as complementary means of liberation within pilgrimage ethics.
Shlokas
Verse 1
ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि कुन्तीश्वरमनुत्तमम् । सावित्र्याः पूर्वभागस्थं खातमध्ये व्यवस्थितम्
Īśvara said: “Then, O Great Goddess, one should go to the unsurpassed Kuntīśvara—situated on the eastern side of Sāvitrī, established within the middle of a sacred trench or pit.”
Verse 2
कुन्त्या प्रतिष्ठितं देवि क्षेत्रे प्राभासिके प्रिये । पाण्डवास्तु यदा पूर्वं प्रभासक्षेत्रमागताः
“O Goddess, beloved, this liṅga was established by Kuntī in the Prābhāsika holy field. Formerly, when the Pāṇḍavas came to the sacred region of Prabhāsa…”
Verse 3
तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगेन कुन्त्या चैव समन्विताः । तस्मिन्काले महादेवि ज्ञात्वा क्षेत्रमनुत्तमम्
On the occasion of a pilgrimage, accompanied by Kuntī—at that time, O Mahādevī—having recognized this sacred kṣetra as unsurpassed…
Verse 4
कुन्त्या प्रतिष्ठितं लिंगं सर्वपापभयापहम् । कार्तिक्यां तु विशेषेण यस्तं पूजयते नरः । स सर्वकामतृप्तात्मा रुद्रलोके महीयते
The liṅga established by Kuntī removes every sin and fear. Especially in the month of Kārtika, the man who worships it becomes fulfilled in all rightful desires, and is honored in Rudra’s world.
Verse 5
वाचिकं मानसं पापं कर्मणा यदुपार्जितम् । तत्सर्वं नश्यते देवि तस्य लिंगस्य दर्शनात्
Whatever sin has been accumulated by deed—whether through speech or in the mind—O Goddess, all of it is destroyed simply by the darśana, the sight of that liṅga.
Verse 174
इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां सप्तमे प्रभासखंडे प्रथमे प्रभासक्षेत्रमाहात्म्ये कुन्तीश्वरमाहात्म्यवर्णनंनाम चतुःसप्तत्युत्तरशततमोऽध्यायः
Thus, in the holy Skanda Mahāpurāṇa—within the Saṃhitā of eighty-one thousand ślokas—ends the 174th chapter in the seventh, Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, in the first section entitled the Māhātmya of Prabhāsa-kṣetra, known as “The Description of the Greatness of Kuntīśvara.”