Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 36
श्रुत्वेत्युक्तो मया शम्भुर्भूयासं ते गंणो ह्यहम् । अनेनैव शरीरेण तथेत्येवाह गां प्रभुः
śrutvetyukto mayā śambhurbhūyāsaṃ te gaṃṇo hyaham | anenaiva śarīreṇa tathetyevāha gāṃ prabhuḥ
यह सुनकर मैंने शम्भु से कहा—“मैं आपके गणों में से एक बन जाऊँ।” प्रभु ने उत्तर दिया—“तथास्तु; इसी शरीर से।”
Kuśadhvaja (requesting); Śambhu/Śiva (replying)
Tirtha: Kailāsa (implied)
Type: peak
Listener: Śambhu (Śiva)
Scene: The devotee petitions Śambhu to become a gaṇa; Śiva responds with a concise ‘tathāstu’ blessing, emphasizing embodied continuity.
FAQs
The highest aspiration is service and proximity to Śiva; divine grace can sanctify even the present embodied life.
No tīrtha is named; the verse emphasizes Śiva’s personal granting of sāyujya-like closeness through gaṇa-status.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse records the devotee’s boon-request: becoming Śiva’s gaṇa.