Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 37
अर्धनारीश्वरं देवं व्याप्य विश्वमवस्थितम् । दृष्ट्वा तमब्रुवं देवं भजस्वेति च भक्तितः
ardhanārīśvaraṃ devaṃ vyāpya viśvamavasthitam | dṛṣṭvā tamabruvaṃ devaṃ bhajasveti ca bhaktitaḥ
ਮੈਂ ਅਰਧਨਾਰੀਸ਼ਵਰ ਦੇਵ ਨੂੰ ਵੇਖਿਆ, ਜੋ ਸਾਰੇ ਵਿਸ਼ਵ ਵਿੱਚ ਵਿਆਪਕ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਉਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਹੀ ਅਵਸਥਿਤ ਹੈ। ਉਸ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਨੂੰ ਦੇਖ ਕੇ ਮੈਂ ਭਕਤੀ ਨਾਲ ਕਿਹਾ: ‘ਉਸ ਦੀ ਉਪਾਸਨਾ ਕਰ।’
Brahmā (continuing first-person narration; deduced)
Scene: A visionary darśana: Ardhanārīśvara stands as the axis of the universe, half Śiva and half Pārvatī, radiating through the worlds; the seer addresses the deity with folded hands, urging worship.
FAQs
Śiva and Śakti are one reality; devotion to the all-pervading Lord is the foundation of cosmic harmony and liberation.
No specific pilgrimage site is named; the verse is theological, highlighting Ardhanārīśvara.
An implicit prescription of bhajana/upāsanā (devotional worship) is indicated by ‘bhajasva’.