Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 1
कूर्म उवाच । शांडिल्य इति विख्यातः पुराहमभवं द्विजः । बालभावे मया भूप क्रीडमानेन निर्मितम्
kūrma uvāca | śāṃḍilya iti vikhyātaḥ purāhamabhavaṃ dvijaḥ | bālabhāve mayā bhūpa krīḍamānena nirmitam
कूर्म बोले—पूर्वकाल में मैं ‘शाण्डिल्य’ नाम से प्रसिद्ध द्विज ब्राह्मण था। हे राजन्, बाल्यावस्था में खेलते-खेलते मैंने अपने हाथों से कुछ बनाया था।
Kūrma
Listener: King (nṛpa/bhūpa)
Scene: A narrator (Kūrma) recalls being the brāhmaṇa Śāṇḍilya as a child, playing and shaping a small sacred structure with his hands, while addressing a king.
FAQs
Even a child’s playful act can become a seed of devotion and destiny when connected to dharma and sacred intent.
No tīrtha is named yet; the narrative is setting up the account of a Śiva-related act performed in childhood.
None explicitly; it introduces a personal purāṇic testimony that will explain a devotional construction.