Varaha Purana 25.24: Adhyaya 25, Shloka 24
The Birth of Ahaṅkāra as Guha/Skanda and His Appointment as Divine Commander
कपालमालिन् शशिखण्डशेखर श्मशानवासिन् सितभस्मगुण्ठित । फणीन्द्रसंवीततनॊऽन्तकापह प्रपाहि नो दक्षधिया सुरेश्वर ॥ २५.२४ ॥
kapālamālin śaśikhaṇḍaśekhara śmaśānavāsin sitabhasmaguṇṭhita | phaṇīndrasaṃvītatano ’ntakāpaha prapāhi no dakṣadhiyā sureśvara || 25.24 ||
Wahai pemakai kalung tengkorak, yang bermahkotakan sabit bulan; penghuni tanah pembakaran mayat, diselubungi abu putih; tubuh-Nya dililit Raja Ular; penghapus ketakutan akan Maut—wahai Tuhan para dewa, lindungilah kami dengan kebijaksanaan pertimbangan yang benar.
Varāha (default narrative framework; explicit speaker not stated in excerpt)
FAQs
It preserves a Purāṇic-style stuti employing established Śaiva epithets (ash-covered ascetic, cremation-ground dweller, serpent-adorned), illustrating the intertextual sharing of devotional vocabulary across Purāṇic corpora and the coexistence of sectarian idioms within a broader Sanskrit literary milieu.
No specific geographic toponym is named in this verse; the imagery of the śmaśāna (cremation-ground) functions as a cultural-ritual setting rather than a locatable place-name.
The verse frames protection as linked to dakṣa-dhī (sound discernment), implying that clarity of intellect and disciplined understanding are central virtues when confronting impermanence and fear (including fear of death).
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