Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 22
बलेस्तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा उशना प्रत्युवाच तम् । अश्वमेधशतेनैव सुरराज्यं भविष्यति । दीक्षितस्य न संदेहस्तस्माद्भोक्त स एव च
balestadvacanaṃ śrutvā uśanā pratyuvāca tam | aśvamedhaśatenaiva surarājyaṃ bhaviṣyati | dīkṣitasya na saṃdehastasmādbhokta sa eva ca
बलीचे वचन ऐकून उशना (शुक्राचार्य) म्हणाले—‘शंभर अश्वमेध यज्ञांनीच देव-राज्य निश्चित होईल. जो विधिवत् दीक्षित आहे त्याबद्दल संशय नाही; म्हणून भोगकर्ता तोच.’
Uśanā (Śukra), guru of Bali
Scene: Śukra (Uśanā), the daitya-guru, calmly instructs Bali: perform a hundred Aśvamedhas to secure Indra’s sovereignty; ritual certainty emphasized by authoritative gesture.
FAQs
Ritual power in the Purāṇic worldview is tied to proper consecration (dīkṣā) and disciplined dharma; results follow ordained rites.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it focuses on sacrificial means to sovereignty.
The performance of a hundred Aśvamedha sacrifices, undertaken with proper dīkṣā (consecration).