Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 194
शैलादेन पुरा प्रोक्तं शिवधर्ममनंतकम् । प्राणिनां कृपया विप्राः सर्वेषां दुष्कृतात्मनाम्
śailādena purā proktaṃ śivadharmamanaṃtakam | prāṇināṃ kṛpayā viprāḥ sarveṣāṃ duṣkṛtātmanām
Wahai para Brāhmaṇa, pada zaman dahulu Śailāda dengan belas kasihan telah mengajarkan Dharma Śiva yang tiada bertepi bagi semua makhluk bernyawa—bahkan bagi mereka yang tabiatnya tenggelam dalam perbuatan jahat.
Lomaśa (deduced: Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narration to sages)
Tirtha: Kedāra/Kedāranātha (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Viprāḥ (brāhmaṇas)
Scene: Sage Śailāda, serene and compassionate, teaches a gathered crowd of varied people; the backdrop suggests a Himalayan hermitage near Kedāra, with Śiva’s presence implied.
FAQs
Śiva’s dharma is presented as limitless and compassionately accessible even to those burdened by wrongdoing.
Within Kedārakhaṇḍa, the broader setting is Kedāra/Kedāranātha and its Śaiva greatness, though this verse itself focuses on Śiva-dharma’s universality.
No specific rite is prescribed here; it introduces the compassionate transmission of Śiva-dharma.