Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21
एवं तस्य व्रतस्थस्य जपपूजापरस्य च । ततो वर्षसहस्रांते गतस्तुष्टिं महेश्वरः । अब्रवीद्वरदोऽस्मीति वृणुष्वेष्टं द्विजोत्तम
evaṃ tasya vratasthasya japapūjāparasya ca | tato varṣasahasrāṃte gatastuṣṭiṃ maheśvaraḥ | abravīdvarado'smīti vṛṇuṣveṣṭaṃ dvijottama
ഇങ്ങനെ അവൻ വ്രതസ്ഥനായി ജപപൂജകളിൽ പരനായിരുന്നപ്പോൾ, ആയിരം വർഷങ്ങളുടെ അവസാനം മഹേശ്വരൻ പ്രസന്നനായി—“ഞാൻ വരദാതാവാണ്; ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമാ, നിനക്കിഷ്ടമുള്ള വരം തിരഞ്ഞെടുക്കുക” എന്നു അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു.
Narrator, with direct speech by Maheśvara (Śiva)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A steadfast ascetic (dvijottama) seated near a liṅga, performing japa with rosary and offering bilva leaves; after an age-long tapas, Maheśvara manifests, serene yet majestic, offering a boon.
FAQs
Persevering devotion—sustained vow, japa, and worship—ripens into Śiva’s direct grace and the granting of boons.
The chapter’s tīrtha is celebrated as a place where prolonged austerity and worship culminate in Śiva’s visible satisfaction and boon-bestowal.
Remaining vrata-stha (steadfast in vow) with continuous japa and pūjā over an extended period.