Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 25
शस्त्रैः स्वैर्जध्नुरात्मानं स्वानि देहानि चिच्छिदुः । केचित्करतले गृह्य शिरांसि स्वानि चोत्सुकाः
śastraiḥ svairjadhnurātmānaṃ svāni dehāni cicchiduḥ | kecitkaratale gṛhya śirāṃsi svāni cotsukāḥ
พวกเขาใช้ศาสตราวุธของตนทำร้ายตนเองและเชือดเฉือนร่างกายของตน บางคนถือศีรษะที่ขาดของตนไว้ในฝ่ามือด้วยความกระตือรือร้น
Narrator (Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa, per Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)
Tirtha: Kedāra/Kedāranātha
Type: kshetra
Scene: Figures in a possessed frenzy strike their own bodies with their own weapons; some lift their severed heads in their palms, eyes wide with terrible eagerness—an image of self-annihilating rage.
FAQs
A rite polluted by disrespect and arrogance can precipitate ruin; dharma protects, adharma unravels.
No tirtha is named in this verse; it belongs to the Dakṣa-yajña narrative within Kedārakhaṇḍa.
None; it is a narrative description of calamity, not a ritual instruction.