Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 83
एवं शप्तो मया ब्रह्मन्रावणो लोकरावणः । अर्चितं केवलं लिंगं विना तेन महात्मना
evaṃ śapto mayā brahmanrāvaṇo lokarāvaṇaḥ | arcitaṃ kevalaṃ liṃgaṃ vinā tena mahātmanā
ഹേ ബ്രഹ്മൻ! ഇങ്ങനെ എന്റെ ശാപം ലഭിച്ച രാവണൻ—ലോകരാവണൻ—ആയി; എങ്കിലും ആ മഹാത്മാവ് (യോഗ്യ പീഠം/ആധാരം) കൂടാതെ ലിംഗത്തെ മാത്രം ആരാധിച്ചു.
Nandin (to the Devas/Suras)
Tirtha: Kedāra (frame)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Brahman interlocutor explicitly addressed (‘brahman’)
Scene: Rāvaṇa, despite being cursed, performs intense worship of a bare liṅga—without the proper base/adjunct—showing devotion but ritual incompleteness; the sage narrates with moral nuance.
FAQs
Even intense devotion can be ritually incomplete; Purāṇic dharma values both bhāva (devotion) and vidhi (right form) in worship.
Kedāra/Kedārnātha is the textual setting; the verse highlights liṅga-arcana themes central to Kedāra’s Śaiva identity.
It implies proper liṅga worship should include the appropriate base/seat (pīṭhikā/yoni) rather than ‘liṅga alone’.