Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 57
ततः शक्तिस्वरूपः स्यात्सोऽक्षयी कीर्त्यते यतः । सदाशिवस्य निःश्वासः शैवं वर्षशतं भवेत् । उच्छ्वासस्तु पुनस्तस्य शक्तिरूपेण संस्थितः
tataḥ śaktisvarūpaḥ syātso'kṣayī kīrtyate yataḥ | sadāśivasya niḥśvāsaḥ śaivaṃ varṣaśataṃ bhavet | ucchvāsastu punastasya śaktirūpeṇa saṃsthitaḥ
അതിന് ശേഷം അവൻ ശക്തിസ്വരൂപനാകുന്നു; അതുകൊണ്ടു അവൾ ‘അക്ഷയാ’ എന്നു കീർത്തിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു. സദാശിവന്റെ ഒരു നിശ്വാസം നൂറ് ശൈവവർഷമെന്നു പറയുന്നു; അവന്റെ ഉച്ഛ്വാസം വീണ്ടും ശക്തിരൂപമായി സ്ഥാപിതമാകുന്നു.
Narrative voice (Sūta as continuing expositor within the Māhātmya context)
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Brāhmaṇas (dvijas) in the narrative assembly
Scene: A vast cosmic tableau: Sadāśiva seated in serene transcendence; from his breath emerge kalpas and yugas as luminous streams; Śakti appears as an imperishable radiance re-entering as inhalation, encircling the cosmos like a protective aura.
FAQs
It presents Śiva-Śakti as the imperishable ground of creation, with cosmic time itself portrayed as the rhythm of Sadāśiva’s breath.
The surrounding narrative belongs to Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya in the Nāgara-khaṇḍa, though this verse is primarily theological.
No explicit rite is stated; the verse emphasizes contemplation of Śiva-Śakti and cosmic order.