Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 46
कथयित्वेति देवेशस्तत्कृत्तिं परिगृह्य च । गजासुरस्य महतीं प्रावृणोद्धरिदंबरः
kathayitveti deveśastatkṛttiṃ parigṛhya ca | gajāsurasya mahatīṃ prāvṛṇoddharidaṃbaraḥ
یوں کہہ کر دیوتاؤں کے ایشور نے وہ کھال اٹھا لی؛ اور گجاسُر کی عظیم کھال لے کر دِگمبر پروردگار نے اپنے آپ کو اسی سے ڈھانپ لیا۔
Skanda (deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame: Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kṛttivāsa (etiology)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Agastya (Kumbhaja) is explicitly addressed in the next verse; this verse continues that narrative flow
Scene: Śiva, sky-clad (Digambara), lifts and wraps the massive elephant-asura hide around himself; the slain Gajāsura’s form is implied; attendants watch in awe; the scene foreshadows the epithet Kṛttivāsa.
FAQs
Śiva’s victory over demonic forces becomes a sacred emblem, transforming a violent episode into a sign of divine protection and grace.
The Kṛttivāseśvara tradition in Kāśī, whose name is linked to Śiva wearing the ‘kṛtti’ (hide).
None directly; it provides mythic context for the deity’s epithet and shrine’s sanctity.