Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16
प्रदहन्वै नरश्रेष्ठ बभ्रमुश्च इतस्ततः । यथैव ते महाराज दहन्ति सकलं जगत्
pradahanvai naraśreṣṭha babhramuśca itastataḥ | yathaiva te mahārāja dahanti sakalaṃ jagat
மனிதர்களில் சிறந்தவனே, அவர்கள் எரிந்து ஒளிர்ந்து இங்கும் அங்கும் அலைகிறார்கள்; மஹாராஜா, அதுபோலவே அவர்கள் முழு உலகையும் எரித்தழிக்கிறார்கள்.
Narrator (Purāṇic speaker, contextually within Revā Khaṇḍa discourse)
Tirtha: Dvādaśāditya
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mahārāja / Bhārata (kingly interlocutor)
Scene: The twelve solar powers as moving flames traversing the sky, their heat visibly scorching the worlds—an image of roaming, consuming radiance.
FAQs
Impermanence is certain; devotion should be anchored in the divine rather than in transient worldly forms.
The verse is cosmological; within Revā Khaṇḍa it supports the sanctity of places where such divine powers are worshipped and beheld.
No direct prescription; it prepares the listener for the ensuing praise of darśana and circumambulation.