Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 14
तद्गानेनातिसंतुष्टो मृदुना मधुरेण च । सुतालेन सुरंगेण धातुमात्राकलावता
tadgānenātisaṃtuṣṭo mṛdunā madhureṇa ca | sutālena suraṃgeṇa dhātumātrākalāvatā
Ta vô cùng hoan hỷ trước tiếng hát ấy—êm dịu và ngọt lành, đúng nhịp đúng phách, trang sức tinh mỹ, dồi dào tiết lượng âm và nghệ thuật.
Śiva (narrator)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrim-audience/sages (implicit)
Scene: Close-up devotional scene: the liṅga with garlands and bilva; the singer’s posture poised; visual motifs of rhythm—hand cymbals, vīṇā strings, or flowing script-like notes—suggesting measured mātrā and ornamentation; Śiva’s unseen presence felt as a luminous aura.
FAQs
Puranic devotion values aesthetic excellence when it is offered as sincere worship—beauty becomes a vehicle of bhakti.
The verse sits within Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s devotional setting, consistent with Kāśī’s tradition of worship through hymn and song.
No new ritual step is commanded; it emphasizes the devotional quality (sweetness, rhythm, artistry) that pleases the deity.