Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 1
सूत उवाच । शिवो गुरुः शिवो देवः शिवो बंधुः शरीरिणाम् । शिव आत्मा शिवो जीवःशिवादन्यन्न किञ्चन
sūta uvāca | śivo guruḥ śivo devaḥ śivo baṃdhuḥ śarīriṇām | śiva ātmā śivo jīvaḥśivādanyanna kiñcana
सूतजी बोले—शिव ही गुरु हैं, शिव ही देव हैं, शिव ही देहधारियों के बंधु हैं। शिव ही आत्मा हैं, शिव ही जीव हैं; शिव से भिन्न कुछ भी नहीं।
Sūta
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (implied)
Scene: Sūta addressing sages in a forest hermitage; behind him a symbolic vision of Śiva pervading all—Śiva as guru and inner Self, with subtle cosmic motifs (liṅga, crescent, gaṅgā, five faces suggested).
FAQs
All refuge—teacher, deity, inner Self, and life-force—is affirmed as Śiva, establishing total dependence and devotion.
No tīrtha is specified; the verse is doctrinal, praising Śiva’s all-pervading reality.
None directly; it lays the theological foundation for Śiva-bhakti and worship.