Adhyaya 361
Chapter 361 gives a brief tīrtha-instruction within a dialogue between Īśvara and Devī. The seeker is directed to go to Hiranyātaṭa and to recognize a particular stop called Ghaṭikāsthāna, formerly connected with a siddha-rṣi. The chapter explains the sanctity of that spot through the yogic attainment of Mṛkaṇḍu: by dhyāna-yoga—said to bear fruit within a single nāḍī-unit—he establishes a liṅga there. This liṅga is named Mārkaṇḍeśvara, and its saving efficacy is emphasized: mere darśana and pūjā are declared to bring sarva-pāpa-upaśamana, the pacification and removal of all sins. Thus the text links ascetic inwardness (meditative discipline) with public devotional access at a named shrine, mapping Prabhāsa-kṣetra into a practical pilgrimage route.
Shlokas
Verse 1
ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि हिरण्यातटसंस्थितम् । घटिकास्थानमिति च यत्र सिद्धः पुरा ऋषिः
Īśvara said: Then, O great Goddess, one should go to the place on the bank of the Hiraṇyā, called Ghaṭikāsthāna, where in ancient times a sage attained perfection.
Verse 2
नाड्यैकया मृकण्डस्तु ध्यानयोगाद्वरानने । तत्रैव स्थापितं लिंगं मार्कंडेश्वरनामतः । सर्वपापोपशमनं दर्शनात्पूजनादपि
O fair-faced one, Mṛkaṇḍa—by the power of meditative yoga, in but a single nāḍī-moment—established there a liṅga, renowned as Mārkaṇḍeśvara. By darśana and also by worship, all sins are pacified.
Verse 360
इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां सप्तमे प्रभासखण्डे प्रथमे प्रभासक्षेत्रमाहात्म्ये मार्कंडेश्वरमाहात्म्यवर्णनंनाम षष्ट्युत्तर त्रिशततमोऽध्यायः
Thus, in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the eighty-one-thousand-verse compilation, in the seventh—Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa—within the first section, the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, concludes the chapter entitled “The Description of the Greatness of Mārkaṇḍeśvara,” being Chapter 361.