Skandapurana 1.3.5

Lomaśa said:
Then all those gods and seers, overcome with fear, / bewildered in mind, praised the liṅga belonging to Īśa, beginning with Brahmā.

Brahmā said:
“You have the form of the liṅga, possess great power, are to be known through Vedānta, and have the nature of the Supreme Self, / by whom, supreme in eternal bliss, the whole world has ever been made from your own self as its root.

You are the witness of all the worlds, you are the destroyer, the discerning one; / you are the protector, O Mahādeva, you are Bhairava, O Lord of the universe!

By you, in the form of the liṅga, these three worlds are pervaded. / And we are insignificant, O Lord, our minds deluded by māyā:

I, all the gods and asuras, yakṣas, gandharvas, rākṣasas, / pannagas, piśācas, and likewise these vidyādharas.

For you are the creator of the creators of the universe; you indeed are the god, the lord of the universe; / you are the maker of this world, you are the destroyer, the supreme Puruṣa.”

"Protect us, O Mahādeva, God of gods, homage be to you!" / Thus praised indeed by the Creator, Maheśvara in the form of the liṅga,

The seers, desiring to praise spotless Maheśvara, / Praised him respectfully with supreme words sung in the Vedas.

The seers said: / "Ignorant through desire, we do not comprehend his abiding nature; / You are indeed the self and the supreme self, you are Prakṛti bringing forth illumination.

You alone are mother and father; you alone are kin and friend; / You are Īśvara, of one form with the knower of the Vedas, contemplated by the magnanimous.

You are the one inner self of all beings, like fire among kinds of firewood; / Because everything arises from you, therefore you are Sarva eternally.

And because this universe comes into being [from you], therefore the Lord is called Śambhu.

All of us—the gods and others, / The seers, devagandharvas, vidyādharas, and great serpents—have approached your lotus feet.

Therefore, through compassion, O Śambhu, protect us, O Lord of the world!"

Mahādeva said: / "Hear my word today and act with haste: / Let all of you rich in austerity quickly pray to Viṣṇu."

Hearing that word of his, of the magnanimous Śaṃkara, / All the gods bowed down to Viṣṇu and praised him then.

The gods said: / "Vidyādharas, hosts of gods, and all the seers have been saved by you today, O sole kin of the whole universe; / Likewise, protect these people who seek mercy today, O Lord of the three worlds, Sovereign of the world, Abode of the universe!"

Smiling, the blessed Viṣṇu then spoke this word: / "Formerly, when afflicted by Daityas, you were protected by me.

Only today has fear arisen from this ancient liṅga; / It is not possible for me to protect you from this fear of the liṅga, O gods."

Thus addressed by Acyuta, those gods became filled with anxiety; / Then an incorporeal voice in the sky spoke, reassuring the gods:

"Enclose this liṅga for worship, O Janārdana; / Becoming a mass, O mighty-armed one, protect the moving and unmoving!" / Thinking 'So be it,' the blessed Vīrabhadra worshipped it.

Worshipped then by the hosts of gods accompanied by Brahmā and others, devoted to Śiva's rites, that magnanimous one, / He was Vīrabhadra, bearing the crescent moon, dear to Śiva, equal to Rudra in the three worlds.

Vīrabhadra then engaged in the worship of the liṅga, / Of the liṅga of that very form by which all this universe

Shines forth, attains maintenance, and also dissolves. / The best knowers of truth call that liṅga 'liṅga' because of its dissolving (layana).

Pervaded by globes of cosmic eggs and adorned with rudrākṣas, / Thus the great liṅga became impossible for all to surpass.

Then all the gods and the seers of great splendor / Praised the great liṅga individually with Vedic assertions:

"O God, you are subtler than the subtle, and likewise you are greater than the great; / Therefore, the worship of the liṅga should be performed by all on your account."

At that very time, the liṅga was established in many ways by Śarva: / The liṅga Brahmeśvara in Satya[loka], and Sadāśiva in Vaikuṇṭha;

In Amarāvatī the well-established one named Amareśvara; / Varuṇeśvara in the western quarter, and Lord Kāleśvara in the southern;

Nairṛteśvara in the south-western quarter, and Pāvaneśvara in the north-western; / Kedāra in the world of mortals, and likewise Amareśvara;

Oṃkāra on the Narmadā, and likewise Mahākāla; / The god Viśveśvara in Kāśī, and Laliteśvara in Prayāga;

Triyambaka on Brahmagiri, and likewise Bhadreśvara in the Kali [age]; / The liṅga Drākṣārāmeśvara at the confluence of the Gaṅgā and the ocean;

And in Saurāṣṭra the liṅga remembered as Someśvara; / Likewise Sarveśvara in the Vindhya, Śikhareśvara at Śrīśaila; / Allālanātha in Kāñcī, and Siṃhanātha in Siṃhala;

Likewise the liṅga Virūpākṣa, and Koṭiśaṅkara; / Tripurāntaka, Bhīmeśa, and Amareśvara;

Bhogeśvara in Pātāla, and Hāṭakeśvara; / Such many liṅgas were established in the three worlds / Then by the gods for the sake of benefiting the universe.

And with all these lords of liṅgas, the three worlds became full. / And partial incarnations of Vīrabhadra were made by the immortals for the sake of worship. / There twenty-eight consecrations were proclaimed by Śaṃkara himself, / Indicating the worship of the liṅga.

The eternal dharmas of Śiva have been spoken by Rudra. / Just as Vīrabhadra is Rudra, so are the other teachers remembered.

Born from the teacher, the teachers became renowned in the three worlds. / But Nandī knows in truth the majesty of the liṅga,

As does the blessed Skanda, and those who bear their names; / The dharmas of Śiva were proclaimed by Nandī exactly as spoken.

By the son of Śilāda, O fortunate ones, the diverse bearers of the liṅga [were ordained]; / A liṅga is worn upon the body by the ancients.

Dissolution into the five elements along with the liṅga, living along with the liṅga— / These well-established practices were established by the son of Śilāda.

The supreme Pāśupata dharma was maintained by Skanda.

The pure five-syllable mantra (pañcākṣarī vidyā) followed by the prāsāda mantra, / Likewise the six-syllable mantra (ṣaḍakṣarī vidyā), the lamp of the prāsāda—

That was obtained from Skanda by the magnanimous Agastya. / Thereafter, through variations of teachers, there arose many Āgamas.

Yet what is the use of much talk? Those who continually utter / The two syllables 'Śi-va' are Rudras, there is no doubt about this.

All those who, placing first the path of the virtuous, are destroyers of the cities [of passion], / Are to be known as heroic Māheśvaras, destroyers of human sins.

Those who practice devotion to Śiva incidentally, unintentionally, / With faith, or even by chance, go to the good destination.

Listen, I shall narrate here an ancient narrative: / How formerly a sweeping of the temple of Śiva was done by a moth.

For she had come to eat the food offering presented by someone; / anciently, a sweeping of the dust was made by her wings.

Through that ripening of actions, she went to highest heaven; / having enjoyed intense heavenly pleasure, she came back to the world of rebirth.

She was born as the daughter of the king of Kāśī, famed by the name Sundarī; / and from previous practice, the auspicious lady became supremely virtuous.

Dawn after dawn, the slender-limbed lady, ever devoted to Śiva's doorway, / swept [it] clean, endowed with supreme devotion.

At that time the noble lady, Sundarī, the king's daughter, [did so] herself. / And seeing her in such a state, the seer Uddālaka said:

“Delicate, virtuous maiden, why do you yourself, auspicious one, / sweep, O maiden with a bright smile?

O noble lady, there are many male and female servants before you; / at your command they will do all the sweeping and the rest.”

Hearing that speech of the seer, she smiled and said:

“Those men and women who perform service to Śiva, / placing devotion to Śiva first, indeed go to Śiva's world.

Sweeping with both hands, going on foot in Śiva's temple— / therefore sweeping is unweariedly done by me.

I know nothing else, except for sweeping.” / The seer, having heard her speech and pondering it in his mind:

“What was done by her previously? Who is she, and by whose grace?” / Then with the eye of knowledge, all that became known by the seer. / Overcome with astonishment, he then fell silent.

Then, having realized that, Uddālaka, the best of the wise, was astonished; / reflecting in his mind on Śiva's majesty, the tranquil one attained understanding beyond knowledge.

Thus ends the seventh chapter in the first [part], the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].

1.7.44

1. [Note: The temple is the praṇava, as in the mantra scriptures the praṇava has the designation of the prāsāda-seed-syllable.]