Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6
मुखाद्रुद्रः समभवद्रौद्ररूपो भवापहः । अर्द्धनारीनरवपुर्दुष्प्रेक्ष्योऽतिभयंकरः
mukhādrudraḥ samabhavadraudrarūpo bhavāpahaḥ | arddhanārīnaravapurduṣprekṣyo'tibhayaṃkaraḥ
(برہما کے) دہن سے رُدر نمودار ہوا—رَودْر روپ، بھَو بندھن کا ہارنے والا۔ اس کا پیکر آدھا ناری آدھا نر تھا، دیکھنا دشوار، نہایت ہیبت ناک۔
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator in Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa context; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: From Brahmā’s mouth bursts Rudra in raudra splendor—flaming hair, ash-smeared body, third eye blazing—yet the torso is Ardhanārī: one side Śiva, the other Śakti; the onlookers recoil in fear while a halo suggests liberation.
FAQs
Divinity can manifest in awe-inspiring forms to dissolve fear and worldly bondage (bhava), pointing beyond ordinary perception.
The narrative belongs to the Vastrāpatha-kṣetra māhātmya within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, situating the teaching in Prabhāsa’s sacred geography.
No direct rite (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is stated in this verse; it is descriptive/cosmogonic.