Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 8
भवतोः खेलसमयो यः सा स्थितिरुदाहृता । इत्थं क्रीडैव सकलमेतद्ब्रह्मांडमीशयोः
bhavatoḥ khelasamayo yaḥ sā sthitirudāhṛtā | itthaṃ krīḍaiva sakalametadbrahmāṃḍamīśayoḥ
Masa ketika kalian berdua bersuka-ria dalam permainan itulah yang disebut ‘sthiti’ (pemeliharaan). Demikianlah seluruh brahmāṇḍa ini hanyalah līlā dari dua Penguasa.
Nārada
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sages
Scene: Śiva and Devī pause mid-game in serene stillness; around them the universe is held in balanced suspension—planets orbit, rivers flow, beings live—signifying sthiti as the ‘play-time’ itself.
FAQs
Sustenance of the world is a divine function, best understood as līlā—inviting devotion rather than fear.
No specific tīrtha; the verse universalizes Śiva–Śakti lordship, which undergirds the sanctity of Kāśī in the larger Kāśīkhaṇḍa.
None.