Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 86
एभिस्समेतोऽसुरदानवैः सह ययौ महेशो विबुदैरलंकृतः । हिमालयं गिरिवर्यं तदानीं पाणिग्रहार्थं प्रमदोत्तमायाः
ebhissameto'suradānavaiḥ saha yayau maheśo vibudairalaṃkṛtaḥ | himālayaṃ girivaryaṃ tadānīṃ pāṇigrahārthaṃ pramadottamāyāḥ
ഇവരോടൊപ്പം, അസുര-ദാനവന്മാരോടുകൂടിയും, ദേവന്മാർ അലങ്കരിച്ച മഹേശൻ അപ്പോൾ ശ്രേഷ്ഠപർവ്വതമായ ഹിമാലയത്തിലേക്ക് പുറപ്പെട്ടു—ഉത്തമകന്യയുടെ പാണിഗ്രഹണാർത്ഥം।
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa), deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context
Tirtha: Himālaya (as śaiva-kshetra setting for Śiva-vivāha)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Unnamed interlocutor(s), typically sages/Brāhmaṇas addressed as ‘dvijottama’ in the surrounding passage
Scene: A grand divine wedding procession: Maheśa radiant, surrounded by devas, with even asuras and dānavas in attendance, moving toward the snow-clad Himālaya for Pārvatī’s hand.
FAQs
Śiva’s marriage becomes a cosmic event drawing all beings, suggesting dharma’s power to harmonize even opposing forces.
The Himalaya as sacred geography; within Kedāra Khaṇḍa it frames the Himalayan tīrthas connected to Śiva.
No explicit prescription; the verse narrates the purpose of the journey—pāṇigraha (marriage rite).