Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 178
यवजं देवलो लिंगं पतिमित्येव नाम च । वल्मीकजं च वाल्मीकिश्चिरवासीति नाम च
yavajaṃ devalo liṃgaṃ patimityeva nāma ca | valmīkajaṃ ca vālmīkiściravāsīti nāma ca
Si Devala ay nagtatag ng Liṅga na yari sa sebada at pinangalanang Pati, “ang Panginoon.” Si Vālmīki naman ay nagtatag ng Liṅga na hinubog mula sa punso ng anay, na tinawag na Ciravāsī, “ang Laging Naninirahan.”
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)
Listener: Ṛṣis (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)
Scene: Two sages in a forested hermitage: Devala shaping a small barley liṅga on a clean altar; Vālmīki near an anthill, reverently forming/adorning an earthen liṅga, with Śiva’s subtle presence implied by aura and bilva leaves.
FAQs
Śiva’s presence is ‘ever-abiding’—discoverable even in humble earth like an anthill and worshipable through the simplest grains.
No explicit tirtha is mentioned; the verse highlights sages and their consecrations rather than a pilgrimage locale.
Constructing a Liṅga from barley or earth (anthill) is implied; no further ritual details are given.