Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 185
सुव्रत उवाच । मुहूर्तमपि गीतादि यः करोति शिवालये । न तस्य शक्यते कर्तुं संख्या धर्मस्य भद्रक
suvrata uvāca | muhūrtamapi gītādi yaḥ karoti śivālaye | na tasya śakyate kartuṃ saṃkhyā dharmasya bhadraka
Suvrata dit : «Ô bien-aimé, celui qui, ne fût-ce qu’un seul muhūrta, chante des hymnes et accomplit des actes semblables dans un temple de Śiva, le mérite (dharma) qu’il acquiert ne peut être dénombré.»
Suvrata
Tirtha: Śivālaya-sevā (general)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Serpent and/or the narrative audience
Scene: Inside a Śiva temple: devotees sing with cymbals; a liṅga adorned with bilva leaves and flowers; lamps flicker; Suvrata proclaims the immeasurable merit of even a muhūrta of such worship.
FAQs
Even brief, sincere devotion in a Śiva-temple yields immeasurable spiritual merit.
Śiva’s temple within the tīrtha-region being described in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; the emphasis is on śivālaya-mahima (glory of the Śiva shrine).
Perform gīta-ādi (devotional singing and allied acts) in a Śiva-temple, even briefly.