Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 13
यन्तारं च सुरज्येष्ठं वेदान्कृत्वा हयोत्तमान् । खलीनादिषु चाङ्गानि रश्मींश्छन्दांसि चाकरोत्
yantāraṃ ca surajyeṣṭhaṃ vedānkṛtvā hayottamān | khalīnādiṣu cāṅgāni raśmīṃśchandāṃsi cākarot
Il désigna l’aîné des dieux comme cocher; il fit des Vedas les chevaux d’excellence; il façonna le mors et les pièces qui s’y rattachent à partir des membres de l’ordre sacré, et fit des mètres védiques (chandas) les rênes.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣi audience/pilgrims (contextual)
Scene: A chariot driven by the ‘eldest of gods’ as charioteer; the horses are personified Vedas, the reins are flowing chandas-metre ribbons, and the bridle parts are formed from sacred limbs/ordered components—an allegory of controlled spiritual motion.
FAQs
Dharma is driven by sacred knowledge: Veda and chandas are portrayed as the very forces that guide and restrain the cosmic journey.
The Revā Khaṇḍa framework sanctifies the Narmadā landscape, while this verse emphasizes the Vedic-sacral structure behind Śiva’s manifestation.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse encodes Vedic categories as spiritual ‘equipment’ for divine action.