Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 4
बहुयोजनपर्यंतं कृते वह्निमये स्थिते । बहिः प्रदक्षिणं चक्रुः प्रशाम्यति महर्षयः
bahuyojanaparyaṃtaṃ kṛte vahnimaye sthite | bahiḥ pradakṣiṇaṃ cakruḥ praśāmyati maharṣayaḥ
Au Kṛta Yuga, lorsqu’il se tenait tel une vaste masse de feu s’étendant sur de nombreux yojanas, les grands ṛṣi accomplirent la pradakṣiṇā au-dehors, priant pour qu’il s’apaise.
Narrator (within Gautama’s account)
Tirtha: Aruṇācala (Kṛta-yuga fiery form)
Type: peak
Listener: Pārvatī
Scene: A colossal flame-mountain stretching many yojanas; a ring of great sages walking clockwise at a distance, hands in añjali, their austerity and prayers cooling the fiery radiance into a gentler glow.
FAQs
Reverent approach—especially pradakṣiṇā—becomes a means to harmonize overwhelming divine power with the world’s welfare.
Aruṇācala, revered through external circumambulation when its form was too intense to approach directly.
Pradakṣiṇā (circumambulation), specifically performed from outside due to the mountain’s fiery nature.