Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 88
नंदिकेश्वर उवाच । विहितः स्यदनः सज्जस्ततोस्तु विजयोदयः । अष्टौ कंठीरवा यत्र यत्रोक्ष्णामष्टकं शुभम्
naṃdikeśvara uvāca | vihitaḥ syadanaḥ sajjastatostu vijayodayaḥ | aṣṭau kaṃṭhīravā yatra yatrokṣṇāmaṣṭakaṃ śubham
नन्दिकेश्वर उवाच—विहितः स्यन्दनः सज्जो भवतु; ततः विजय-उदयः। यत्राष्टौ कण्ठीरवाः, यत्रोक्ष्णामष्टकं शुभम्।
Nandīkeśvara
Tirtha: Kāśī (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: (Implied) attendants/gaṇas; narrative audience
Scene: Nandīkeśvara, authoritative and calm, instructs attendants to ready a divine chariot; around the chariot are emblematic groups—eight lions and eight bulls—arranged symmetrically like guardians of directions.
FAQs
Right preparation aligned with dharma is portrayed as the foundation for victory; sacred symbolism marks auspicious power.
The verse is within the Kāśī tīrtha narrative; it hints at a marked sacred locale identified by emblematic ‘eight lions’ and ‘eight bulls’.
No formal rite; it gives an instruction to prepare (vihita/sajja) the chariot—an action within the unfolding sacred episode.