Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 46
कथयित्वेति देवेशस्तत्कृत्तिं परिगृह्य च । गजासुरस्य महतीं प्रावृणोद्धरिदंबरः
kathayitveti deveśastatkṛttiṃ parigṛhya ca | gajāsurasya mahatīṃ prāvṛṇoddharidaṃbaraḥ
ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞ് ദേവേശൻ ആ തോൽ കൈക്കൊണ്ട്, ഗജാസുരന്റെ മഹത്തായ ചർമ്മവും എടുത്ത്, ഹരിദംബരൻ (ദിഗംബരൻ) അതിനെ തന്റെ ദേഹത്തിൽ പൊതിഞ്ഞു।
Skanda (deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame: Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kṛttivāsa (etiology)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Agastya (Kumbhaja) is explicitly addressed in the next verse; this verse continues that narrative flow
Scene: Śiva, sky-clad (Digambara), lifts and wraps the massive elephant-asura hide around himself; the slain Gajāsura’s form is implied; attendants watch in awe; the scene foreshadows the epithet Kṛttivāsa.
FAQs
Śiva’s victory over demonic forces becomes a sacred emblem, transforming a violent episode into a sign of divine protection and grace.
The Kṛttivāseśvara tradition in Kāśī, whose name is linked to Śiva wearing the ‘kṛtti’ (hide).
None directly; it provides mythic context for the deity’s epithet and shrine’s sanctity.