Adhyaya 177
This adhyāya is a brief Śaiva theological notice spoken by Īśvara to Devī. It places Lakulīśa—described as embodied (mūrtimān)—in the eastern quarter of the Prabhāsa kṣetra, established upon elevated ground (sthala-upari) through earlier, formidable austerity (ghora tapas). The site is explicitly framed as a place for the pacification and cleansing of sin (pāpa-śamana). A calendrical rule is then given: worship in the month of Kārttikī, especially when the Kṛttikā lunar asterism is conjoined (kṛttikā-yoga), brings extraordinary recognition. The declared fruit is social and cosmic validation: the worshipper becomes worthy of honor among all orders of beings, including devas and asuras. The chapter ends with a formal colophon locating the passage within the Skanda Purāṇa’s Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, in the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya section.
Shlokas
Verse 1
ईश्वर उवाच । तस्यैव पूर्वदिग्भागे लकुलीशस्तु मूर्तिमान् । स्वयं तिष्ठति देवेशि कृत्वा घोरं तपः पुरा
Īśvara said: In its very eastern quarter, O goddess of the gods, Lakulīśa stands there in embodied form, having formerly performed fierce austerities.
Verse 2
संस्थितः पापशमने तत्र स्थाने स्थलोपरि । कार्तिक्यां कृत्तिकायोगे यस्तं पूजयते नरः
Abiding there upon that sacred ground as a remover of sins—whoever worships him in the month of Kārttika at the conjunction of Kṛttikā,
Verse 3
स पूज्यते महादेवि सर्वैरपि सुरासुरैः
That person, O Great Goddess, is honored and worshipped by all—by gods and demons alike.
Verse 177
इति श्रीस्कान्दे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां सप्तमे प्रभासखण्डे प्रथमे प्रभासक्षेत्रमाहात्म्ये लकुलीशमाहात्म्यवर्णनंनाम सप्तसप्तत्युत्तरशततमो ऽध्यायः
Thus ends the one-hundred-and-seventy-seventh chapter, called “The Description of the Greatness of Lakulīśa,” in the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa of the Śrī Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, within the eighty-one-thousand-verse Saṃhitā, in the first part: the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya.