Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 164
इति कथितमशेषं श्रेयसामादिबीजं भवशतदुरितघ्नं ध्वस्तमोहांधकारम् । चरितममरगेयं मन्मथारेरुदारं सततमपि निषेव्यं स्वस्तिमद्भिश्च लोकैः
iti kathitamaśeṣaṃ śreyasāmādibījaṃ bhavaśataduritaghnaṃ dhvastamohāṃdhakāram | caritamamarageyaṃ manmathārerudāraṃ satatamapi niṣevyaṃ svastimadbhiśca lokaiḥ
Ainsi a été pleinement exposée la semence première de tout vrai bien, qui détruit les fautes de cent existences et dissipe les ténèbres de l’illusion : l’acte noble de Śiva, l’Ennemi de Manmatha, chanté par les dieux, à chérir et à mettre en pratique sans cesse par les hommes vertueux.
Narrator (contextually Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in Purāṇic frame)
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (implied)
Scene: A cosmic hymn-scene: devas in a semicircle singing Śiva’s noble deed; Śiva as ‘Manmathāri’ serene yet radiant, with crescent moon and gaṅgā in hair; darkness of ignorance shown as a dissolving shadow behind devotees; a manuscript or palm-leaf text symbolizing the narrated carita.
FAQs
Hearing and internalizing Śiva’s sacred deeds becomes a seed of śreyas—purifying karma across births and dissolving delusion.
This verse functions as a general phalaśruti; the immediately preceding narrative context (ending of the adhyāya) frames the associated tīrtha, but the verse itself highlights Śiva’s carita rather than naming a site.
A devotional prescription is implied: to ‘constantly resort to’ (niṣevyam) the teaching—i.e., regular listening/recitation, remembrance, and dhārmic practice aligned with it.