Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 32
प्रणव उवाच । न ह्येष भगवाञ्छक्त्या स्वात्मनो व्यतिरिक्तया । कदाचिद्रमते रुद्रो लीलारूपधरो हरः
praṇava uvāca | na hyeṣa bhagavāñchaktyā svātmano vyatiriktayā | kadācidramate rudro līlārūpadharo haraḥ
Praṇava dit : «Ce Seigneur bienheureux ne se réjouit jamais par une puissance séparée de Son propre Soi. Rudra—Hara—ne revêt des formes que comme jeu divin (līlā).»
Praṇava (Oṃ), personified teacher
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: the two questioners
Scene: Praṇava speaks as a teacher: Śiva (Rudra/Hara) is shown serene, with multiple emblematic forms faintly suggested as playful manifestations arising from one luminous essence.
FAQs
Śiva’s power is not external to Him; divine manifestation is līlā, expressing non-duality of Lord and His Śakti.
Doctrinal teaching situated in Kāśīkhaṇḍa (Kāśī’s Śaiva revelation space); no specific tirtha is named.
None; it is metaphysical instruction about the nature of Śiva and Śakti.