Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17
एवं स्तुतस्तदा सर्वैरृषिभिर्गतकल्मषैः । ततस्तुष्टो महादेवस्तेषां प्रत्यक्षतां गतः । अब्रवीत्तानृषीन्देवो वृणुध्वं वरमुत्तमम्
evaṃ stutastadā sarvairṛṣibhirgatakalmaṣaiḥ | tatastuṣṭo mahādevasteṣāṃ pratyakṣatāṃ gataḥ | abravīttānṛṣīndevo vṛṇudhvaṃ varamuttamam
یوں جب سب رشیوں نے—جن کے گناہ دھل چکے تھے—ستوتی کی، تو مہادیو خوش ہوئے اور اُن کے سامنے ظاہر ہو گئے۔ پھر دیوتا نے اُن رشیوں سے کہا: “ایک بہترین ور مانگو۔”
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator, likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa per Mahātmya style)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣi-assembly
Scene: Śiva manifests before a circle of ṛṣis: a sudden radiance, ash-smeared yet resplendent form, calm smile; sages with matted hair and deer-skins, hands raised in awe; the moment of ‘choose a boon’.
FAQs
Sincere praise and purification lead to divine grace, culminating in direct encounter (pratyakṣa-darśana) and blessings.
Prabhāsakṣetra, where Śiva’s presence is portrayed as responsive to the devotion of purified sages.
The verse implies stuti (hymnic praise) and purification, though it does not specify a particular rite.