Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 33
सर्वलिंगेषु हुंकारः स्मशानेषु भयावहः । महालक्षो वने घोरे ज्वालाक्षो वसतौ स्थितः
sarvaliṃgeṣu huṃkāraḥ smaśāneṣu bhayāvahaḥ | mahālakṣo vane ghore jvālākṣo vasatau sthitaḥ
ಎಲ್ಲ ಲಿಂಗಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅವನು ‘ಹುಂಕಾರ’; ಶ್ಮಶಾನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ‘ಭಯಾವಹ’. ಘೋರ ವನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ‘ಮಹಾಲಕ್ಷ’ ಮತ್ತು ಗೃಹವಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ ‘ಜ್ವಾಲಾಕ್ಷ’ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಥಿತನಾಗಿದ್ದಾನೆ.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Sarva-liṅga-kṣetra (all liṅga sites) / Śmaśāna / Vana / Gṛha thresholds
Type: kshetra
Scene: A four-panel tableau: (1) a liṅga shrine with the deity as Huṃkāra (mantric presence), (2) a cremation-ground with Bhayāvaha amid pyres, (3) a dark forest with Mahālakṣa watching from shadows, (4) a village/home threshold with Jvālākṣa, flame-eyed, guarding the doorway.
FAQs
The divine protection of Śiva’s domain is omnipresent, adapting to each sacred and liminal space.
No single tirtha is named; the verse maps guardian-manifestations across common sacred locales (liṅga, smaśāna, forest).
Implicit guidance for contextual invocation—remembering the guardian-name appropriate to the place of worship or passage.