Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 116
येऽर्चयंति शिवं नित्यं लिंगरूपिणमेव च । स्त्रियो वाप्यथ वा शूद्राः श्वपचा ह्यंत्यवासिनः । तं शिवं प्राप्नुवंत्येव सर्वदुःखोपनाशनम्
ye'rcayaṃti śivaṃ nityaṃ liṃgarūpiṇameva ca | striyo vāpyatha vā śūdrāḥ śvapacā hyaṃtyavāsinaḥ | taṃ śivaṃ prāpnuvaṃtyeva sarvaduḥkhopanāśanam
जे नित्य लिंगरूप शिवाचे अर्चन करतात—स्त्रिया असोत, शूद्र असोत, किंवा श्वपच व अंत्यवासी असोत—ते निश्चयच सर्वदुःखनाशक त्या शिवाला प्राप्त होतात।
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced for Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narration)
Tirtha: Kedāra / Kedāranātha
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis (contextual)
Scene: A diverse group—women, Śūdras, and marginalized communities—stand in reverent lines offering water and bilva to a liṅga; Śiva’s compassionate aura dissolves sorrow, depicted as dark clouds lifting.
FAQs
Śiva’s grace through liṅga-worship is accessible to all; sincere devotion overcomes all barriers and ends suffering.
Within Kedāra-khaṇḍa, the statement functions as Kedāra-kṣetra-māhātmya: the place where liṅga-worship yields supreme fruit.
Nitya-arcana (daily worship) of Śiva in liṅga form is explicitly prescribed and praised.