Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17
एवं स्तुतस्तदा सर्वैरृषिभिर्गतकल्मषैः । ततस्तुष्टो महादेवस्तेषां प्रत्यक्षतां गतः । अब्रवीत्तानृषीन्देवो वृणुध्वं वरमुत्तमम्
evaṃ stutastadā sarvairṛṣibhirgatakalmaṣaiḥ | tatastuṣṭo mahādevasteṣāṃ pratyakṣatāṃ gataḥ | abravīttānṛṣīndevo vṛṇudhvaṃ varamuttamam
ಈ ರೀತಿ ಕಲ್ಮಷರಹಿತರಾದ ಎಲ್ಲ ಋಷಿಗಳಿಂದ ಸ್ತುತಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟ ಮಹಾದೇವನು ತೃಪ್ತನಾಗಿ ಅವರ ಮುಂದೆ ಪ್ರತ್ಯಕ್ಷನಾದನು. ಆಗ ದೇವನು ಆ ಋಷಿಗಳಿಗೆ—“ಉತ್ತಮ ವರವನ್ನು ಆರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಿರಿ” ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿದರು.
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator, likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa per Mahātmya style)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣi-assembly
Scene: Śiva manifests before a circle of ṛṣis: a sudden radiance, ash-smeared yet resplendent form, calm smile; sages with matted hair and deer-skins, hands raised in awe; the moment of ‘choose a boon’.
FAQs
Sincere praise and purification lead to divine grace, culminating in direct encounter (pratyakṣa-darśana) and blessings.
Prabhāsakṣetra, where Śiva’s presence is portrayed as responsive to the devotion of purified sages.
The verse implies stuti (hymnic praise) and purification, though it does not specify a particular rite.