Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52
अन्यदेवधिया राजन्विश्वेशं पश्य मा क्वचित् । ब्रह्मविष्ण्विंद्र चंद्रार्का क्रीडेयं तस्य धूर्जटेः
anyadevadhiyā rājanviśveśaṃ paśya mā kvacit | brahmaviṣṇviṃdra caṃdrārkā krīḍeyaṃ tasya dhūrjaṭeḥ
हे राजन्! विश्वेश्वराला ‘दुसरा देव’ अशा बुद्धीने कधीही पाहू नकोस। ब्रह्मा, विष्णू, इंद्र, चंद्र व सूर्य—ते त्या धूर्जटि प्रभूचे केवळ खेळणे आहेत।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context)
Tirtha: Viśveśvara (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: rājan (king)
Scene: A dramatic cosmic visualization: Viśveśvara as Dhūrjaṭi with matted locks, towering in divine radiance; Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Indra, Candra, and Sūrya appear as small attendant figures or ‘playthings’ orbiting his presence, while a king is warned by a brāhmaṇa.
FAQs
Viśveśvara is proclaimed supreme; seeing him as merely one deity among many is a spiritual misunderstanding.
Kāśī through its lord Viśveśvara, the supreme Śiva of the city.
A doctrinal injunction: exclusive reverence and right understanding of Viśveśvara’s supremacy.