Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5
तदौत्सुक्येन स मुनिः प्रेर्यमाण उवाच ह । नारद उवाच । देवदेव तव क्रीडाखिलं ब्रह्मांडगोलकम् । मासा द्वादश ये नाथ ते सारिफलके गृहाः
tadautsukyena sa muniḥ preryamāṇa uvāca ha | nārada uvāca | devadeva tava krīḍākhilaṃ brahmāṃḍagolakam | māsā dvādaśa ye nātha te sāriphalake gṛhāḥ
Didorong oleh rasa ingin tahu, sang muni pun berkata. Nārada bersabda: Wahai Dewa segala dewa, seluruh sfera kosmos ini hanyalah permainan suci-Mu. Wahai Tuhan, dua belas bulan itu laksana petak-petak pada papan permainan ini.
Nārada
Tirtha: Kailāsa (teaching through līlā)
Type: peak
Listener: Agastya
Scene: Nārada, moved by curiosity, addresses Śiva: the whole cosmic sphere is your game; the twelve months are like the board’s compartments/houses in this play.
FAQs
Cosmic time (months and cycles) is portrayed as part of the Lord’s līlā, inviting a devotional, non-anxious vision of existence.
The teaching is delivered in the Kailāsa setting; the Kāśīkhaṇḍa uses such episodes to deepen reverence for Śiva’s sovereignty central to Kāśī’s glory.
None directly; it provides cosmological symbolism rather than a rite.