Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4
सूत उवाच । एतत्सत्यं गिरौ तस्मिन्स्वयंभूः संस्थितः प्रभुः । परं तत्र वसेद्देवो यावन्मासाष्टकं द्विजाः
sūta uvāca | etatsatyaṃ girau tasminsvayaṃbhūḥ saṃsthitaḥ prabhuḥ | paraṃ tatra vaseddevo yāvanmāsāṣṭakaṃ dvijāḥ
Sūta berkata: “Benarlah demikian—di gunung itu Tuhan yang menjelma sendiri (Svayambhū) bersemayam. Namun, wahai yang dua kali lahir, Dewa tinggal di sana hanya selama lapan bulan.”
Sūta
Type: peak
Listener: Dvijāḥ / Ṛṣayaḥ
Scene: Sūta addresses the assembled dvijas, pointing to a sacred mountain where a self-manifest Lord abides; the atmosphere suggests a hidden sanctum and a calendrical mystery of presence.
FAQs
The Lord’s presence is both eternal and ritually timed—sacred places and seasons guide devotees toward disciplined pilgrimage and worship.
Kedāra on the Himalayan mountain (connected with Gaṅgādvāra) is affirmed as the abode of the svayaṃbhū Lord.
An implicit calendrical teaching: the deity’s dwelling is described as lasting eight months, shaping when pilgrimage and worship are especially appropriate.