Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 13
कल्पकोटिं वसेत्स्वर्गेयः करोति शिवालयम् । यावंति परमाणूनि शिवस्यायतने नृप
kalpakoṭiṃ vasetsvargeyaḥ karoti śivālayam | yāvaṃti paramāṇūni śivasyāyatane nṛpa
जो शिवालय उभारतो तो दहा कोटी कल्प स्वर्गात वास करतो; आणि हे नृपा, शिवाच्या आयतनात जितके परमाणू, तितकीच वर्षे (तो तेथे राहतो).
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating a merit statement (contextual deduction within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Śivālaya (general)
Type: temple
Listener: Nṛpa (King)
Scene: A visionary depiction of a Śiva temple as a cosmos: the sanctum filled with shimmering ‘atoms’ like stars, while the donor ascends to svarga for kalpa upon kalpa.
FAQs
Constructing a Śiva-temple is portrayed as an exceptionally meritorious dharmic act with vast spiritual reward.
The verse glorifies any Śiva-āyatana (Śiva sanctuary/temple) rather than a single named site.
The prescription is temple-building (śivālaya-karaṇa) as a form of dharma and religious endowment.