Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 86
एवमभ्यर्थयंत्यास्तु चांडाल्याः प्रसृतेंऽजलौ । एकः पुण्यतमः पांथः प्राक्षिपद्बिल्वमंजरीम्
evamabhyarthayaṃtyāstu cāṃḍālyāḥ prasṛteṃ'jalau | ekaḥ puṇyatamaḥ pāṃthaḥ prākṣipadbilvamaṃjarīm
یوں وہ چنڈالنی عورت ہاتھ پھیلا کر عجز و نیاز سے مانگ رہی تھی کہ ایک نہایت پرہیزگار مسافر نے اس کی پھیلی ہوئی ہتھیلیوں میں بیل کے پھولوں کا گچھا ڈال دیا۔
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; specific speaker not explicit in the snippet)
Type: temple
Scene: A weary traveler pauses as a Caṇḍāla woman begs with cupped hands; he gently tosses a fresh bilva-blossom cluster into her palms, foreshadowing its destined contact with a Śiva-liṅga.
FAQs
Even a small, seemingly ordinary act can become a cause of great merit when it becomes connected to devotion and dharma.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the passage builds toward the glory of Śiva-worship (especially bilva-offering) and Śivarātri.
The verse introduces bilva flowers, a classic offering for Śiva, which becomes central to the later Śivarātri context.