Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 32
तदधोंऽडकटाहोथ कोटिमात्रस्तथापरः । देवी युक्ता कपालीशा दंडहस्तेन चापि सा
tadadhoṃ'ḍakaṭāhotha koṭimātrastathāparaḥ | devī yuktā kapālīśā daṃḍahastena cāpi sā
அதற்குக் கீழே ஒரு கோடி அளவுடைய ‘அண்டகடாஹ’ உள்ளது; அதற்கு அப்பால் இன்னொரு அடுக்கும் உள்ளது. அங்கே தேவியான கபாலீசா தண்டத்தை கையில் ஏந்தி விளங்குகிறாள்.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Oṃḍakaṭāha
Type: kshetra
Scene: A dark underworld corridor opens into a vast pit-like realm labeled Oṃḍakaṭāha; at its gate stands Kapālīśā Devī, fierce yet protective, holding a staff (daṇḍa), surrounded by shadowy attendants and faint firelight.
FAQs
Even the lower cosmic regions are governed by divine powers; the presence of Devī signifies order, restraint, and karmic administration.
No earthly tīrtha is praised; the verse describes a cosmological region and a goddess within it.
None; the verse is descriptive.