Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 29
पूर्वकल्पे नृपश्रेष्ठ क्रीडन्त्या परमेष्ठिना । उमया सह रुद्रस्य क्रीडतश्चार्णवीकृतः
pūrvakalpe nṛpaśreṣṭha krīḍantyā parameṣṭhinā | umayā saha rudrasya krīḍataścārṇavīkṛtaḥ
اے بہترین بادشاہ! پچھلے کَلپ میں جب پرمیشٹھھی (برہما) اُما کے ساتھ کھیل رہا تھا، تو رُدر کی لیلا سے یہ جگت گویا سمندری پھیلاؤ بن گئی۔
Purāṇic narrator addressing a king (explicit: nṛpaśreṣṭha)
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (implied by address ‘nṛpaśreṣṭha’ and explicit in next verses)
Scene: Śiva and Umā in playful embrace or sport; around them the cosmos turns into a vast ocean—worlds submerged, waves swirling, yet the divine couple remains serene and radiant.
FAQs
Even dissolution-like states are framed as divine līlā under Rudra and Umā—encouraging trust in the Lord’s governance of cycles.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it remains within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s broader sacred narrative geography.
None.