Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1
ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि मार्कण्डेयेशमुत्तमम् । तस्मादुत्तरदिग्भागे मार्कण्डेन प्रतिष्ठितम्
īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi mārkaṇḍeyeśamuttamam | tasmāduttaradigbhāge mārkaṇḍena pratiṣṭhitam
Īśvara bersabda: Kemudian, wahai Mahādevī, hendaklah pergi kepada Mārkaṇḍeyeśvara yang tertinggi; tempat itu didirikan oleh Mārkaṇḍa di bahagian utara dari situ.
Śiva (Īśvara)
Tirtha: Mārkaṇḍeyeśvara
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
Scene: Śiva instructs Pārvatī on the next stop in the Prabhāsa pilgrimage: proceed to the supreme Mārkaṇḍeyeśvara, situated to the north; the shrine is shown as a liṅga sanctum with directional markers.
FAQs
Prabhāsa is mapped as a living sacred landscape, where visiting specific Śiva-liṅgas is itself a dharmic practice.
Mārkaṇḍeyeśvara in Prabhāsakṣetra, a liṅga established by the sage Mārkaṇḍa.
A pilgrimage instruction: proceed from the prior site to Mārkaṇḍeyeśvara located to the north.