Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 71
एवंविधः सुरवरैरृषिभिस्तदानीं गंधर्वयक्षमुनिसिद्धगणैस्तथैव । दृष्टो निरुत्तरमुखो भगवान्महेशो हास्यं चकार सुभृशं त्वथ नारदश्च
evaṃvidhaḥ suravarairṛṣibhistadānīṃ gaṃdharvayakṣamunisiddhagaṇaistathaiva | dṛṣṭo niruttaramukho bhagavānmaheśo hāsyaṃ cakāra subhṛśaṃ tvatha nāradaśca
Alors Bhagavān Maheśa fut vu par les plus grands des dieux, par les ṛṣi, et de même par les troupes de Gandharva, Yakṣa, Muni et Siddha, debout, le visage muet et sans réponse. Maheśa éclata de rire; puis Nārada rit à son tour.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating
Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A vast celestial congregation—devas, ṛṣis, gandharvas, yakṣas, siddhas—stands before Maheśa in Kedāra; Śiva remains silent with an ‘unanswering’ face, then breaks into hearty laughter; Nārada joins, echoing the divine mirth.
FAQs
The divine cannot be confined by ordinary questioning; Śiva’s silence and laughter signal transcendence and līlā beyond conventional categories.
The setting belongs to Kedārakhaṇḍa (Kedāra region), where Śaiva sacred geography is celebrated throughout the section.
None; the verse depicts a divine scene witnessed by celestial and perfected beings.