Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 42
पदानि त्रीणि मे चाद्य दातव्यानि कुतोऽधुना । शीघ्रं वद विशालाक्षि यत्ते मनसि वर्त्तते । तदोवाच च सा साध्वी ह्युरुक्रममवस्थिता
padāni trīṇi me cādya dātavyāni kuto'dhunā | śīghraṃ vada viśālākṣi yatte manasi varttate | tadovāca ca sā sādhvī hyurukramamavasthitā
आताही मला तीन पावले द्यायची आहेत—हे आता कसे होईल? हे विशालाक्षी, तुझ्या मनात जे आहे ते लवकर सांग. तेव्हा उरुक्रमासमोर उभी ती साध्वी बोलली।
Bhagavān (Viṣṇu/Vāmana) addressing Vindhyāvalī; narrator frames her reply
Tirtha: Kedāra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrim-audience/ṛṣis
Scene: Viṣṇu (Urukrama) asks how the promised three steps can be given now; he urges Vindhyāvalī to speak her mind; she stands poised to answer.
FAQs
Dharma seeks practical completion—truth must find a means, guided by clarity and devotion.
The Kedārakhaṇḍa situates the teaching in the Kedāra sacred landscape, though the verse itself is a dialogue within the māhātmya.
No ritual is prescribed; the focus is on fulfilling a vowed dāna of “three steps.”