Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5
तस्य तत्करसंलग्नं च्यवते न कदाचन । ततो हि देवदेवेशः पर्यटन् पृथिवीमिमाम्
tasya tatkarasaṃlagnaṃ cyavate na kadācana | tato hi devadeveśaḥ paryaṭan pṛthivīmimām
ആ (ഛിന്ന ശിരസ്) അവന്റെ കൈയിൽ ചേർന്നതുപോലെ തന്നെ, ഒരിക്കലും വിട്ടുപോയില്ല. അതിനാൽ ദേവദേവേശ്വരൻ ഈ ഭൂമിയിൽ പര്യടനം ചെയ്യാൻ പുറപ്പെട്ടു.
Narrator (Revā Khaṇḍa narrator addressing Yudhiṣṭhira)
Tirtha: Siddheśvara (goal of the wandering)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pārtha / king addressed
Scene: Śiva, the Lord of gods, wanders the earth with the skull/head stuck to his hand; landscapes shift—forests, mountains, rivers—until the destined tīrtha is reached.
FAQs
Karmic consequence persists until purified through prescribed expiation; pilgrimage becomes a sacred means of transformation.
The verse prepares for the later revelation of the Narmadā-side Śuddharudra Tīrtha as the place of release.
Implicitly, wandering/pilgrimage as part of prāyaścitta; explicit rites are described later.