Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 101
यथास्य जगतो ब्रूषे नास्ति हेतुर्महेश्वरः । तद्बालभाषितं तुभ्यं किं राजानं विना प्रजाः
yathāsya jagato brūṣe nāsti heturmaheśvaraḥ | tadbālabhāṣitaṃ tubhyaṃ kiṃ rājānaṃ vinā prajāḥ
جیسے تم کہتے ہو کہ اس جہان کا کوئی سبب نہیں—کوئی مہیشور نہیں—یہ تمہاری بچگانہ بات ہے۔ بتاؤ، بادشاہ کے بغیر رعایا کیسے ہو سکتی ہے؟
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)
Scene: A debate scene: a Śaiva teacher challenges a skeptic; behind them a symbolic cosmic order appears—Śiva as sovereign, with the universe arranged like a well-ruled kingdom.
FAQs
The universe is not causeless; acknowledging Maheśvara as the sustaining principle is presented as mature, dharmic understanding.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it serves as a theological preface to later site-specific liṅga glories.
None directly; the verse frames the logic that supports liṅga worship and later prescriptions.