Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 77
अशरीरा समुदभूद्वाणी भैरवनादिनी । भोः शंकर महीपाल मानलं प्रविशाधुना
aśarīrā samudabhūdvāṇī bhairavanādinī | bhoḥ śaṃkara mahīpāla mānalaṃ praviśādhunā
അപ്പോൾ ഭൈരവനാദംപോലെ മുഴങ്ങുന്ന ഒരു അശരീരി വാണി ഉദിച്ചു— “ഹേ ശങ്കരാ, ഹേ ഭൂമിപാലാ! ഇപ്പോൾ തന്നെ മാനലയിൽ പ്രവേശിക്ക.”
A bodiless divine voice (aśarīrā vāṇī, Bhairava-like)
Tirtha: Mānala
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaṅkara (king)
Scene: A king addressed by an unseen, bodiless voice reverberating like Bhairava; the landscape suggests a liminal gateway to a sacred region, with attendants startled and the king poised to obey.
FAQs
Divine guidance can arise unexpectedly, directing the devotee toward a purifying sacred place and immediate right action.
The verse signals movement toward the Setu-region; the wider passage culminates in the Rāmasetu/Rāmanātha (Rāmeśvaram) sanctity.
Here it is a direct command to enter a specified place (Mānala); the detailed ritual regimen follows in subsequent verses.