Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 29
यः सदा धारयेन्मर्त्यः शैवं कवचमुत्तमम् । न तस्य जायते क्वापि भयं शम्भोरनुग्रहात्
yaḥ sadā dhārayenmartyaḥ śaivaṃ kavacamuttamam | na tasya jāyate kvāpi bhayaṃ śambhoranugrahāt
Sinumang mortal na patuloy na nagtataglay ng dakilang himnong pananggalang na ito ni Shiva (kavaca) ay hindi kailanman makararanas ng takot saanman—sa pamamagitan ng biyaya ni Shambhu (Shiva).
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Brāhma Khaṇḍa narrative style)
Scene: A devotee wearing/holding a palm-leaf manuscript or amulet inscribed with the kavaca, standing fearless while shadows of dangers (serpents, thieves, disease) dissolve behind; Śambhu’s benign gaze above granting anugraha.
FAQs
Steady devotion expressed through bearing the Śaiva kavaca leads to abhaya (fearlessness) through Śiva’s grace, not merely through personal effort.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is on the mahātmya (power) of Śiva’s protective kavaca and Śambhu’s anugraha.
The prescription is to “always bear” (sadā dhārayet) the supreme Śaiva kavaca—understood as wearing it, keeping it on one’s person, or regularly retaining/reciting it as a protective observance.