Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 18
ब्राह्मणा ऊचुः । यदि तुष्टोऽसि नो देव स्थानेऽस्मिन्निरतो भव । असंख्यातानि यस्माच्च कपालानि सुरेश्वर
brāhmaṇā ūcuḥ | yadi tuṣṭo'si no deva sthāne'sminnirato bhava | asaṃkhyātāni yasmācca kapālāni sureśvara
เหล่าพราหมณ์กล่าวว่า “ข้าแต่เทพ หากพระองค์ทรงพอพระทัยในพวกเรา ขอทรงประทับแน่วแน่ ณ สถานที่นี้เถิด เพราะที่นี่ ข้าแต่สุเรศวร มีหัวกะโหลกนับไม่ถ้วน…”
Brāhmaṇas/Ṛṣis
Tirtha: Kapāleśvara (emergent name within Prabhāsa-kṣetra)
Type: temple
Listener: Ṛṣi-assembly
Scene: Brāhmaṇas address Śiva with folded hands, gesturing toward the ground where countless skulls are seen or symbolically indicated; the atmosphere is solemn, liminal, and sacred rather than macabre.
FAQs
Devotees seek the deity’s abiding presence at a sacred site, establishing an enduring relationship between place, worship, and grace.
A Śiva-sthāna within Prabhāsakṣetra associated with “kapālas,” later known as Kapāleśvara.
A request for the deity to remain at the site; no specific ritual is detailed in this verse.