Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 178
यवजं देवलो लिंगं पतिमित्येव नाम च । वल्मीकजं च वाल्मीकिश्चिरवासीति नाम च
yavajaṃ devalo liṃgaṃ patimityeva nāma ca | valmīkajaṃ ca vālmīkiściravāsīti nāma ca
ದೇವಲನು ಯವದಿಂದ ಮಾಡಿದ ಲಿಂಗವನ್ನು ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಾಪಿಸಿದನು; ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ‘ಪತಿ’—ಪ್ರಭು—ಎಂಬ ನಾಮ. ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿಯು ವಲ್ಮೀಕ (ಚಿಟ್ಟೆಗುಡ್ಡ)ದಿಂದ ಉಂಟಾದ ಲಿಂಗವನ್ನು ಸ್ಥಾಪಿಸಿ, ಅದನ್ನು ‘ಚಿರವಾಸಿ’—ನಿತ್ಯನಿವಾಸಿ—ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯಲಾಯಿತು.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)
Listener: Ṛṣis (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)
Scene: Two sages in a forested hermitage: Devala shaping a small barley liṅga on a clean altar; Vālmīki near an anthill, reverently forming/adorning an earthen liṅga, with Śiva’s subtle presence implied by aura and bilva leaves.
FAQs
Śiva’s presence is ‘ever-abiding’—discoverable even in humble earth like an anthill and worshipable through the simplest grains.
No explicit tirtha is mentioned; the verse highlights sages and their consecrations rather than a pilgrimage locale.
Constructing a Liṅga from barley or earth (anthill) is implied; no further ritual details are given.