Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 14
भूतान्प्रेतान्पिशाचांश्च कृत्वा तानेव पृष्ठतः । वृषभस्थान्पुरस्कृत्य स्वयं चैव महाबलः । तीक्ष्णं त्रिशूलमादाय पातयामास तान्रणे
bhūtānpretānpiśācāṃśca kṛtvā tāneva pṛṣṭhataḥ | vṛṣabhasthānpuraskṛtya svayaṃ caiva mahābalaḥ | tīkṣṇaṃ triśūlamādāya pātayāmāsa tānraṇe
Dengan menempatkan para bhūta, preta dan piśāca di belakangnya, serta mendahulukan mereka yang menunggang lembu, sang maha perkasa itu sendiri mengangkat trisula yang tajam lalu menjatuhkan mereka dalam pertempuran.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Kedāra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sages/devotees
Scene: Vīrabhadra advances: behind him a shadowy mass of bhūtas and pretas; ahead, bull-mounted gaṇas surge like a wave; he raises a gleaming, razor-sharp triśūla and strikes down foes amid dust and storm.
FAQs
The verse portrays Śiva’s fierce protective energy (through Vīrabhadra) as overwhelming and unstoppable when dharma is perceived to be violated.
Kedārakhaṇḍa’s setting is Kedāra’s sacred region, but this verse specifically depicts martial imagery rather than tīrtha benefits.
None; it is narrative and iconographic (retinue arrangement, bull symbolism, trident).