Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 88
कर्दमोपि च तत्कालमज्ञासीत्क्षणसंगतम् । यतो न प्रभवेत्कालो महाकालस्य संनिधौ
kardamopi ca tatkālamajñāsītkṣaṇasaṃgatam | yato na prabhavetkālo mahākālasya saṃnidhau
കർദമനും ആ ദീർഘകാലത്തെ ക്ഷണമാത്രമായി തന്നെ അറിഞ്ഞു; മഹാകാലന്റെ സന്നിധിയിൽ കാലത്തിനും പ്രാബല്യം ഇല്ലാത്തതിനാൽ।
Narrator (Skanda to Agastya, contextually)
Tirtha: Mahākāla-sannidhi in Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame implied)
Scene: Kardama in Śiva’s presence where centuries feel like a moment; depict Mahākāla as a vast, calm presence—time-wheels, sun-moon, and hourglass motifs fading near the liṅga.
FAQs
Near Mahākāla, devotion loosens the grip of time; spiritual proximity to Śiva transforms one’s experience of temporality.
Kāśī is implied as Mahākāla’s sanctified sphere; the epithet Mahākāla also resonates with Ujjain’s Mahākāleśvara tradition across Śaiva sacred geography.
No explicit rite; the verse highlights samādhi-like absorption and nearness to Mahākāla through worship.