Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 24
वाग्वादेन च किं कार्यमस्माकं चाधुना प्रभो । प्रकृतेः परतस्त्वं च यदि सत्यं वचस्तव । तर्हि त्वया न भेतव्यं मम शंकर संप्रति
vāgvādena ca kiṃ kāryamasmākaṃ cādhunā prabho | prakṛteḥ paratastvaṃ ca yadi satyaṃ vacastava | tarhi tvayā na bhetavyaṃ mama śaṃkara saṃprati
«Et à quoi nous sert, ô Seigneur, une simple joute de paroles maintenant ? Si ta parole est vraie—que tu es au-delà de Prakṛti—alors, ô Śaṅkara, tu ne dois nullement me craindre en cet instant.»
Girijā (Pārvatī) (deduced from immediate narrative context)
Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly (contextual)
Scene: Pārvatī confronts Śaṅkara with a sharp, fearless question; Śiva remains serene, unshaken, in a Himalayan hermitage atmosphere.
FAQs
True spiritual realization is tested in conduct, not in argument; fearlessness should follow genuine transcendence.
The Kedārakhaṇḍa frame places the teaching within the Kedāra–Himālaya tīrtha milieu, though no single shrine is named in this verse.
No direct prescription; the verse critiques “vāda” (mere disputation) and emphasizes lived realization.