Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 8
मार्गशीर्षस्य मासस्य कृष्णपक्षे च याष्टमी । सोपवासः शुचिर्भूत्वा लिङ्गं सम्पूरयेत्तिलैः । यथाविभवसारेण गन्धपुष्पैः समर्चयेत्
mārgaśīrṣasya māsasya kṛṣṇapakṣe ca yāṣṭamī | sopavāsaḥ śucirbhūtvā liṅgaṃ sampūrayettilaiḥ | yathāvibhavasāreṇa gandhapuṣpaiḥ samarcayet
Au huitième jour lunaire de la quinzaine sombre du mois de Mārgaśīrṣa, après avoir jeûné et s’être purifié, qu’on comble le Śiva-liṅga de graines de sésame et, selon ses moyens, qu’on l’honore avec parfums et fleurs.
Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (Narmadā-associated Śiva-liṅga worship)
Type: kshetra
Listener: nareśvara (king)
Scene: A fasting devotee, bathed and pure, stands before a black stone Śiva-liṅga, pouring sesame seeds in a steady stream, then offering fragrant paste and fresh flowers in orderly upacāras.
FAQs
Devotion expressed through purity, restraint (fasting), and sincere worship according to capacity is upheld as powerful dharma.
Within the ongoing Sarpa-tīrtha māhātmya, the verse gives a time-bound Śaiva observance connected to the tīrtha’s merit.
Observe a fast on Mārgaśīrṣa kṛṣṇapakṣa aṣṭamī; maintain śauca (purity); offer sesame to the Śiva-liṅga; worship with fragrance and flowers as per one’s means.