Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 12
सर्गात्पुरा निरालोकं यदेकं निष्कलं परम् । चिदानंदमयं ज्योतिः स आद्यः केवलः शिवः
sargātpurā nirālokaṃ yadekaṃ niṣkalaṃ param | cidānaṃdamayaṃ jyotiḥ sa ādyaḥ kevalaḥ śivaḥ
సృష్టికి పూర్వం ఆ ఏక పరమ తత్త్వం—నిష్కలము, నిరాలోకము—చిదానందమయ జ్యోతి; ఆయనే ఆద్యుడు, కేవల శివుడు।
Muni (continuing instruction to the king)
Scene: A vast, dark pre-cosmic expanse with a single, serene, formless radiance—Śiva as pure light—suggested without anthropomorphic detail; the sage narrates while the king listens in awe.
FAQs
The highest reality is the One, partless Śiva—pure consciousness and bliss—prior to and beyond creation.
No particular sacred site is named; the verse presents a universal Śaiva metaphysics.
None explicitly; it is a doctrinal statement about the supreme principle.