Adhyaya 291
This chapter is a brief theological notice in which Īśvara points out a shrine of Bhadrakālī situated to the north of the place called “Kaubera-sañjñaka,” a locale associated by name with Kubera. Bhadrakālī is praised as the bestower of desired aims (vāñchitārtha-pradāyinī) upon devotees. She is explicitly connected with the disruption of Dakṣa’s sacrifice: accompanied by Vīrabhadra, she is described as an agent in the destruction of Dakṣa’s yajña. A calendrical directive follows, recommending worship of the Goddess on the third lunar day (tṛtīyā) of the month of Caitra. A phala (fruit) statement adds that extensive veneration of Cāmuṇḍā manifestations brings auspicious results—good fortune (saubhāgya), victory (vijaya), and the abiding presence of Lakṣmī (prosperity). Thus the adhyāya serves as a localized ritual index, binding mythic authority to a specific place-marker and a specific date, and turning narrative memory into practical instruction for worship.
Shlokas
Verse 1
ईश्वर उवाच । तस्मादुत्तरभागे तु स्थानात्कौबेरसंज्ञकात् । भद्रकाली महादेवि वांछितार्थप्रदायिनी
Īśvara said: To the north of that place known as Kaubera is Bhadrakālī, the Great Goddess, who bestows the desired aims.
Verse 2
दक्षयज्ञस्य विध्वंसे वीरभद्रसमन्विता । भद्रकाली महादेवी दक्षयज्ञविनाशिनी
At the destruction of Dakṣa’s sacrifice (yajña), accompanied by Vīrabhadra, Bhadrakālī—the Great Goddess—became the destroyer of Dakṣa’s yajña.
Verse 3
चैत्रे मासि तृतीयायां देवीं तां यस्तु पूजयेत् । नवकोट्यस्तु चामुण्डा भविष्यंति सुपूजिताः । सौभाग्यं विजयं चैव तस्य लक्ष्मीर्भविष्यति
Whoever worships that Goddess on the third lunar day (tithi) in the month of Caitra—by that act the nine koṭis of Cāmuṇḍās are duly worshipped. For him there shall be good fortune and victory, and Lakṣmī (prosperity) shall abide.
Verse 291
इति श्रीस्कान्दे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां सप्तमे प्रभासखण्डे प्रथमे प्रभासक्षेत्रमाहात्म्ये न्यंकुमतीमाहात्म्ये भद्रकालीमाहात्म्यवर्णनंनामैकनवत्युत्तरद्विशततमोऽध्यायः
Thus ends the two-hundred-and-ninety-first chapter, called “The Description of the Greatness of Bhadrakālī,” in the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa of the Śrī Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the Ekāśītisāhasrī Saṃhitā—within the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, in the Nyaṅkumatī Māhātmya.