Adhyaya 63
Chapter 63 records Īśvara’s instruction to Devī, directing her to the shrine of Bhairaveśvara, located not far to the south of Yogēśvarī. This liṅga is praised as removing all sins and bestowing divine prosperity and lordly power (divyaiśvarya). The sanctity of the site is grounded in an earlier myth: when Devī set out to destroy the demons, she summoned Bhairava and appointed him as her messenger (dūta). Through this appointment Devī is known as Śivadūtī, and later as Yogēśvarī, linking the Goddess’s epithets with the local landscape. Because Bhairava was commissioned there in messenger service, the liṅga became renowned as Bhairaveśvara. It is said to have been established by Bhairava and worshipped by both devas and daityas, showing its holiness acknowledged across worlds. The phalaśruti declares that one who worships it with devotion in Kārttikā according to rule, or continuously for six months, attains the desired fruit.
Shlokas
Verse 1
ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि भैरवेश्वरमुत्तमम् । योगेश्वर्या दक्षिणतो नातिदूरे व्यवस्थितम्
Īśvara said: “Then, O Mahādevī, one should go to the excellent Bhairaveśvara, situated not far to the south of Yogeśvarī.”
Verse 2
सर्वपापप्रशमनं दिब्यैश्वर्यप्रदायकम् । पुरा दैत्यविनाशार्थं यदा देवी कृतोद्यमा
It pacifies all sins and bestows divine prosperity. In former times, when the Goddess undertook her effort for the destruction of the Dānavas, this sacred power was made manifest.
Verse 3
तदा भैरवमाहूय दूतत्वे नियुयोज ह । शिवदूती तदा ख्याता पश्चाद्योगेश्वरीति च
Then, summoning Bhairava, she appointed him to the office of her messenger. At that time she became renowned as Śivadūtī, and later also as Yogeśvarī.
Verse 4
भैरवो यत्र वै देव्या दूतत्वे विनियोजितः । तेन लिंगं समाख्यातं भैरवेश्वरनामकम्
Where Bhairava was indeed commissioned by the Goddess as her messenger—because of that event, the liṅga there is celebrated by the name Bhairaveśvara.
Verse 5
पूजितं देवदैत्यैश्च भैरवेण प्रतिष्ठितम् । यस्तत्पूजयते भक्त्या कार्तिक्यां विधिना नरः । निरंतरं वा षण्मासं सोऽभीष्टं लभते फलम्
Worshipped by Devas and Dānavas alike, and established by Bhairava—whoever, with devotion, worships that Bhairaveśvara in the month of Kārtika according to the proper rite, or else continuously for six months, attains the fruit he desires.
Verse 63
इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां सप्तमे प्रभासखण्डे प्रथमे प्रभासक्षेत्रमाहात्म्ये भैरवेश्वरमाहात्म्यवर्णनंनाम त्रिषष्टितमोऽध्याय
Thus ends the sixty-third chapter, entitled “The Description of the Greatness of Bhairaveśvara,” in the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, within the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, of the Śrī Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the compilation of eighty-one thousand verses.