Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 82
क्रीडेयं तव देवेश त्रिलोचन महामते । किं कारणं विरूपाक्ष चेष्टितं ते स्मरार्दन
krīḍeyaṃ tava deveśa trilocana mahāmate | kiṃ kāraṇaṃ virūpākṣa ceṣṭitaṃ te smarārdana
اے دیوتاؤں کے مالک، اے سہ چشم، اے عظیم فہم! کیا یہ آپ کی لیلا ہے؟ اے وِروپاکش، اے کام دیو کو فنا کرنے والے—آپ کے اس طرزِ عمل کی کیا وجہ ہے؟
Viṣṇu addressing Śiva
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Audience of Kāśīkhaṇḍa; in-scene: Viṣṇu questioning Śiva
Scene: Viṣṇu addresses Śiva with iconic epithets—Trilocana, Virūpākṣa, Smarārdana—asking if the act is līlā and what its cause is; Śiva appears both ascetic and sovereign.
FAQs
Śiva’s acts are often līlā with a hidden dharmic aim; devotees may ask the reason while maintaining reverence.
Kāśī is the textual frame (Kāśīkhaṇḍa), presenting Śiva’s deeds as part of Kāśī’s sacred greatness.
None; the verse is an inquiry into the cause of Śiva’s behavior.