Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22
सोऽपि लिंगपरित्यक्तो लज्जायुक्तो महेश्वरः । गर्तां गुर्वीं समाश्रित्य भ्रूणरूपः समाविशत्
so'pi liṃgaparityakto lajjāyukto maheśvaraḥ | gartāṃ gurvīṃ samāśritya bhrūṇarūpaḥ samāviśat
اور مہیشور بھی—لِنگ سے محروم اور شرم سے بھرپور—ایک گہری کھائی کا سہارا لے کر، جنین کی صورت اختیار کر کے اس میں داخل ہو گئے۔
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating
Type: kund
Listener: dvija-sattama (implied addressee of the narrative frame)
Scene: Maheśvara, veiled in shame, withdraws toward a yawning pit; his form becomes small and luminous like an embryo, entering the earth’s womb while the surface world trembles.
FAQs
The narrative uses dramatic symbolism—withdrawal and concealment—to indicate cosmic imbalance that must be ritually and theologically resolved.
The verse serves a tīrtha-origin storyline, but the exact place-name is not provided in this excerpt.
None directly; such episodes typically lead to later propitiation (stotra, dāna, vrata) in subsequent verses.