Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 14
कोटिशो वेदमार्गस्य ध्वंसकान्पापकर्मिणः । इयं मया समाराध्य समानीता गिरेः सुता
koṭiśo vedamārgasya dhvaṃsakānpāpakarmiṇaḥ | iyaṃ mayā samārādhya samānītā gireḥ sutā
ਵੇਦ-ਮਾਰਗ ਨੂੰ ਢਾਹੁਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਪਾਪਕਰਮੀ ਅਣਗਿਣਤ ਕੋਟੀਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਉੱਠ ਖੜ੍ਹਦੇ ਹਨ। ਇਸ ਲਈ ਮੈਂ ਯਥਾਵਿਧੀ ਆਰਾਧਨਾ ਕਰਕੇ ਗਿਰਿ-ਸੁਤਾ, ਪਹਾੜ ਦੀ ਧੀ, ਨੂੰ ਰੱਖਿਆ ਵਾਸਤੇ ਇੱਥੇ ਲਿਆਇਆ।
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating (first-person quotation preserved)
Scene: A surge of dark figures symbolizing Veda-path destroyers; the narrator performs worship and ceremonially brings Girisutā—radiant, mountain-born—into the sacred precinct as a protective presence.
FAQs
When dharma is threatened, devoted ārādhana invokes divine protection; the Goddess is portrayed as guardian of the Vedic way.
No explicit location is named; the verse emphasizes dharma-protection rather than a particular pilgrimage site.
Samārādhana (proper worship) is indicated as the operative practice, without specifying mantra, vrata, or offering.