Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 2
नारद उवाच । शपषाः पोशघटकौ विषाग्न तप्तमाषकौ । फलं च तंदुलं चैव दिव्यान्यष्टौ विदुर्बुधाः
nārada uvāca | śapaṣāḥ pośaghaṭakau viṣāgna taptamāṣakau | phalaṃ ca taṃdulaṃ caiva divyānyaṣṭau vidurbudhāḥ
నారదుడు అన్నాడు—శపషా, పోష, ఘటక; విషం, అగ్ని; తప్తమాషక; అలాగే ఫలం, తండులం—ఇవి ఎనిమిది ‘దివ్య’ పరీక్షలు అని జ్ఞానులు చెప్పుదురు।
Nārada
Listener: Arjuna
Scene: Nārada enumerates eight ordeals; visualized as symbolic vignettes: poison cup, fire altar, heated metal/seed measure, fruit and rice tests, and oath implements—arranged like a didactic panel.
FAQs
Dharma literature preserves structured methods for resolving doubts when ordinary evidence is absent, emphasizing accountability and truth.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse catalogues doctrinal categories of ordeals.
It enumerates eight forms of divya-parīkṣā (ordeals), which are to be applied in appropriate cases (detailed subsequently).