Skanda Purana

The Skanda Purana (IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest Mukhyapurāṇa, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts.Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare (1996). Studies in {{IAST|Skanda Purāṇa}}. Published by Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|81-208-1260-3}} The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Shaivite literature,{{Sfn|Bakker|2014|pp=4-6}} titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvati (who is also known as Murugan in Tamil literature).{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=114, 229-238}} While the text is named after Skanda, he does not feature either more or less prominently in this text than in other Shiva-related Puranas.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=114, 229-238}} The text has been an important historical record and influence on the Hindu traditions and rituals related to the war-god Skanda.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=114, 229-238}}KK Kurukkal (1961), A Study of the Karttikeya Cult as reflected in the Epics and the Puranas, University of Ceylon Review, Vol. 19, pages 131-138

The earliest text titled Skanda Purana likely existed by the 8th century CE,{{Sfn|Bakker|2014|pp=1-3}} but the Skanda Purana that has survived into the modern era exists in many versions.{{Sfn|Doniger|1993|pp=59-83}} It is considered as a living text, which has been widely edited, over many centuries, creating numerous variants.{{cite book|title=On Hinduism|page=234|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iM_QAgAAQBAJ&q=On+he|quote=Certainly, different parts of Skanda Puran were added at different periods and different traditions, composed in increments over several centuries, were brought together in the present redactions. The text often betrays its chequered past, despite its contant attempts to integrate each new view. But this is its strength not weakness. The Skanda Purana is, in a real sense, a living purana, one of the few Puranas extant still extant in Sanskrit and certainly, one of the most popular.|author=Wendy Doniger|publisher=Oxford University Press}} The common elements in the variant editions encyclopedically cover cosmogony, mythology, genealogy, dharma, festivals, gemology, temples, geography, discussion of virtues and evil, of theology and of the nature and qualities of Shiva as the Absolute and the source of true knowledge.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=234-238}}

The editions of Skandapurana text also provide an encyclopedic travel handbook with meticulous Tirtha Mahatmya (pilgrimage tourist guides),{{Sfn|Glucklich|2008|p=146, Quote: The earliest promotional works aimed at tourists from that era were called mahatmyas}} containing geographical locations of pilgrimage centers in India, Nepal and Tibet, with related legends, parables, hymns and stories.{{cite book|author1=Jean Holm|author2=John Bowker |title=Sacred Place |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZVdUpfmISwwC|year= 1998|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|isbn=978-0-8264-5303-7|page=68}}{{cite book| author1=Krishan Sharma| author2=Anil Kishore Sinha| author3=Bijon Gopal Banerjee| title=Anthropological Dimensions of Pilgrimage| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RrkUMlsu_YIC |year= 2009|publisher=Northern Book Centre|isbn=978-81-89091-09-5|pages=3–5}}Vijay Nath (2007), [http://ihr.sagepub.com/content/34/1/1.extract Puranic Tirthas: A study of their indigenous origins and the transformation (based mainly on the Skanda Purana)], Indian Historical Review, Vol. 34, Issue 1, pages 1-46

This Mahāpurāṇa, like others, is attributed to the sage Vyasa.

Date of composition

Haraprasad Shastri and Cecil Bendall, in about 1898, discovered an old palm-leaf manuscript of Skanda Purana in a Kathmandu library in Nepal, written in Gupta script.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=237}}{{cite book|author=D. C. Sircar|title=Indian Epigraphy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hXMB3649biQC&pg=PA63| year=1965|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1166-9|page=63}}{{cite book|author=Alex McKay|title=Kailas Histories: Renunciate Traditions and the Construction of Himalayan Sacred Geography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l3HsCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA135|year=2015|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-9004306189| pages=134–143}} They dated the manuscript to 8th century CE, on paleographic grounds. This suggests that the original text existed before this time. R. Adriaensen, H.Bakker, and H. Isaacson dated the oldest surviving palm-leaf manuscript of Skanda Purana to 810 CE, but Richard Mann adds that earlier versions of the text likely existed in the 8th century CE.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=229-231}}{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CLN0F7GGecsC&pg=PA17 |title=Origin and Growth of the Purāṇic Text Corpus |chapter=Three Chapters of Saiva Material Added to the Earliest Known Recension of the Skanda Purana |pages=17–18 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |editor=Hans Bakker |year=2004 |isbn=9788120820494 |access-date=2021-12-27 |archive-date=2023-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164822/https://books.google.com/books?id=CLN0F7GGecsC&pg=PA17 |url-status=live }} Hans Bakker states that the text specifies holy places and details about the 4th and 5th-century Citraratha of Andhra Pradesh, and thus may have an earlier origin.{{Sfn|Bakker|2014|pp=3-4 with footnotes}} The oldest versions of the Skandapurana texts have been discovered in the Himalayan region of South Asia such as Nepal, and the northeastern states of India such as Assam. The critical editions of the text, for scholarly studies, rely on the Nepalese manuscripts.

Additional texts style themselves as khandas (sections) of Skandapurana, but these came into existence after the 12th century. It is unclear if their root texts did belong to the Skandapurana, and in some cases replaced the corresponding chapters of the original. The version of the earliest known recension was later expanded in two later versions namely the Revakhanda and Ambikakhanda recensions. The only surviving manuscript of the Revakhanda recension is from 1682. The four surviving manuscripts of the Ambikakhhnda recension are of a later period and contains much more alterations. Judit Törzsök says a similar recension to these two recensions seems to have been known to Laskhmidhara, thus it existed before 12th century. Ballala Sena quotes content found only in these two recensions, thus the version known at that time was similar to the ancient version of these two recensions.{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CLN0F7GGecsC&pg=PA79 |title=Origin and Growth of the Purāṇic Text Corpus |chapter=The Relation between the Skandapurana and the Avantyakhanda |pages=79 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |author=Yuko Yokochi |year=2004 |isbn=9788120820494 |access-date=2021-12-27 |archive-date=2023-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164822/https://books.google.com/books?id=CLN0F7GGecsC&pg=PA79 |url-status=live }}

There are a number of texts and manuscripts that bear the title Skanda Purana.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YcYyAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA187 |title=The Rise of Mahāsena |publisher=BRILL |year=2011 |author=Richard D. Mann |isbn=9789004218864 |page=187 }} Some of these texts, except for the title, have little in common with the well-known Skandapurana traced to the 1st millennium CE.{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CLN0F7GGecsC&pg=PA2 |title=Origin and Growth of the Purāṇic Text Corpus |chapter=The Structure of the Varanasimahatmya in Skandapurana 26-31 |pages=2–3 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |author=Hans Bakker |year=2004 |isbn=9788120820494 |access-date=2020-11-21 |archive-date=2021-04-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414153459/https://books.google.com/books?id=CLN0F7GGecsC&pg=PA2 |url-status=live }} The original text has accrued several additions, resulting in several different versions. It is, therefore, very difficult to establish an exact date of composition for the Skanda Purana.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6RyNCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA139 |title=The Art of Living Foundation |author=Stephen Jacobs |page=139 |publisher=Ashgate |isbn=9781472412683 |year=2015 |access-date=2020-11-21 |archive-date=2021-04-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414153932/https://books.google.com/books?id=6RyNCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA139 |url-status=live }}{{Sfn|Doniger|1993|pp=59-83}}

Structure

Stylistically, the Skanda Purana is related to the Mahabharata, and it appears that its composers borrowed from the Mahabharata. The two texts employ similar stock phrases and compounds that are not found in the Ramayana. Some of the mythology mentioned in the present version of the Skanda Purana is undoubtedly post-Gupta period, consistent with that of medieval South India. This indicates that several additions were made to the original text over the centuries.{{cite book |title=The Many Faces of Murukan̲ |author=Fred W. Clothey |year=1978 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=9789027976321 |page=224 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0AevljBmCRQC&pg=PA224 |access-date=2020-11-21 |archive-date=2021-04-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414154117/https://books.google.com/books?id=0AevljBmCRQC&pg=PA224 |url-status=live }} The Kashi Khanda, for example, acquired its present form around the mid-13th century CE.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r10f4uwzcosC&pg=PA272 |title=Death in Banaras |author=Jonathan P. Parry |page=272 |year=1994 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521466257 |access-date=2020-11-21 |archive-date=2021-04-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414154832/https://books.google.com/books?id=r10f4uwzcosC&pg=PA272 |url-status=live }} The latest part of the text might have been composed in as late as the 15th century CE.

{{Quote box

|quote = Tirtha: Holy Pilgrimage

Tirtha are of three kinds,

Jangam Tirtha is to a place movable,

of a sadhu, a rishi, a guru,

Sthawar Tirtha is to a place immovable,

like Benaras, Hardwar, Mount Kailash, holy rivers,

Manas Tirtha is to a place of mind,

of truth, charity, patience, compassion, soft speech, soul.

|source = —Skanda Purana{{cite book|author=Geoffrey Waring Maw|title=Pilgrims in Hindu Holy Land: Sacred Shrines of the Indian Himalayas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IarXAAAAMAAJ|year=1997|publisher=Sessions Book Trust|isbn=978-1-85072-190-1|page=7}}

|bgcolor=#FFE0BB

|align = right

}}

The whole corpus of texts which are considered as part of the Skanda Purana is grouped in two ways. According to one tradition, these are grouped in six {{IAST|saṁhitā}}s, each of which consists of several {{IAST|khaṇḍa}}s. According to another tradition, these are grouped in seven {{IAST|khaṇḍa}}s, each named after a major pilgrimage region or site. The chapters are Mahatmyas, or travel guides for pilgrimage tourists.{{Sfn|Glucklich|2008|p=146, Quote: The earliest promotional works aimed at tourists from that era were called mahatmyas}}

=The seven khandas=

The {{IAST|Maheśvara Khaṇḍa}} consists of 3 sections:{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=229}}

the {{IAST|Kedāra Khaṇḍa}} (35 chapters, Kedarnath Tirtha region,{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=230}} north India)
the {{IAST|Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa}} or {{IAST|Kumārikā Khaṇḍa}} (66 chapters, Mahisagara-samgama-tirtha or Cambay pilgrimage region,{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=230}} west India) and
the {{IAST|Arunācala Khaṇḍa}} or {{IAST|Arunācala Māhātmya}} (37 chapters, Tiruvannamalai Tirtha region,{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=230}} south India), further divided into two parts:
{{IAST|Pūrvārdha}} (13 chapters) and
{{IAST|Uttarārdha}} (24 chapters)

The {{IAST|Viṣṇu Khaṇḍa}} or {{IAST|Vaiṣṇava Khaṇḍa}} consists of nine sections:{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=229}}

{{IAST|Veṅkaṭācalamāhātmya}} (40 chapters, Tirupati Tirtha region,{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=230}} south India)
{{IAST|Puruṣottamakṣetramāhātmya}} (49 chapters, Puri Odisha Tirtha region,{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=230}} east India)
{{IAST|Badarikāśramamāhātmya}} (8 chapters, Badrinath Tirtha region,{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=231}} north India)
{{IAST|Kārttikamāsamāhātmya}} (36 chapters)
{{IAST|Mārgaśirṣamāsamāhātmya}} 17 chapters, Mathura Tirtha region{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=231}})
{{IAST|Bhāgavatamāhātmya}} (4 chapters)
{{IAST|Vaiśākhamāsamāhātmya}} (25 chapters)
{{IAST|Ayodhyāmāhātmya}} (10 chapters, Ayodhya Tirtha region{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=231}}) and
{{IAST|Vāsudevamāhātmya}} (32 chapters)

The {{IAST|Brahma Khaṇḍa}} has three sections (four in some manuscripts):{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=229}}

{{IAST|Setumāhātmya}} (52 chapters, Rama Setu Tirtha region,{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=231}} Tamil Nadu and towards Sri Lanka)
{{IAST|Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa}} (40 chapters) and
{{IAST|Uttara Khaṇḍa}} or {{IAST|Brahmottara Khaṇḍa}} (22 chapters)

The {{IAST|Kāśī Khaṇḍa}} (100 chapters, Varanasi and Vindhya Tirtha region{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=232-233}}) is divided into two parts:{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=229}}

{{IAST|Pūrvārdha}} (50 chapters) and
{{IAST|Uttarārdha}} (50 chapters)

The {{IAST|Āvantya Khaṇḍa}} consists of:

{{IAST|Avantikṣetramāhātmya}} (71 chapters, Ujjain Tirtha region{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=233}})
{{IAST|Caturaśītiliṅgamāhātmya}} (84 chapters) and
{{IAST|Rewā Khaṇḍa}} (Thought to have 232 chapters, Juergen Neuss states that the manuscripts attest this is actually the original Rewa Khanda of Vayu Purana which was wrongly included in the Skanda Purana by Veṅkateśvara Steam Press in 1910 and all publications of the Skanda after it. The one belonging to the Skanda has 116 chapters.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=233}}Jurgen Neuss, Oliver Hellwig, [http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/1_sanskr/3_purana/vprevk_u.htm Rewakhanda of the Vayupurana] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630041422/http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/1_sanskr/3_purana/vprevk_u.htm |date=2019-06-30 }})

The {{IAST|Nāgara Khaṇḍa}} (279 chapters) consists of {{IAST|Tirtha-māhātmya}} (Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra or Vadnagar region).{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=229}}{{Cite journal |last=Mehta |first=R. N. |date=1968 |editor-last=Misra |editor-first=S. C. |title=Nāgarakhaṇḍa - A study |department=Humanities |journal=Journal of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda |publication-place=Baroda |volume=XVII |issue=1 |pages=103–128}}

The {{IAST|Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa}} (491 chapters) consists of four sections:{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=229}}

{{IAST|Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya}} (365 chapters, Saurashtra and Somanatha Tirtha region,{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=234}} west India)
{{IAST|Vastrāpathakṣetramāhātmya}} (19 chapters, Girnar Tirtha region{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=234}})
{{IAST|Arvuda Khaṇḍa}} (63 chapters, Aravalli Range Rajasthan Tirtha region{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=234}}) and
{{IAST|Dvārakāmāhātmya}} (44 chapters, Dwarka Gujarat Tirtha region{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=234}})

=The six samhitas=

The second type of division of the Skanda Purana is found in some texts like {{IAST|Hālasyamāhātmya}} of the {{IAST|Agastya Saṁhitā}} or the {{IAST|Śaṁkarī Saṁhitā}}, {{IAST|Sambhava Kāṇḍa}} of the {{IAST|Śaṁkarī Saṁhitā}}, {{IAST|Śivamāhātmya Khaṇḍa}} of the {{IAST|Sūta Saṁhitā}} and {{IAST|Kālikā Khaṇḍa}} of the {{IAST|Sanatkumāra Saṁhitā}}. According to these texts, the Skanda Purana consists of six {{IAST|saṁhitā}}s (sections):

the {{IAST|Sanatkumāra Saṁhitā}}
the {{IAST|Sūta Saṁhitā}}
the {{IAST|Śaṁkarī Saṁhitā}}
the {{IAST|Vaiṣṇavī Saṁhitā}}
the {{IAST|Brāhmī Saṁhitā}} and
the {{IAST|Saura Saṁhitā}}

The manuscripts of the {{IAST|Sanatkumāra Saṁhitā}}, the {{IAST|Śaṁkarī Saṁhitā}}, the {{IAST|Sūta Saṁhitā}} and the {{IAST|Saura Saṁhitā}} are extant. A manuscript of a commentary on the {{IAST|Sūta Saṁhitā}} by {{IAST|Madhavācārya}} is also available. These texts discuss cosmogony, theology, philosophical questions on virtues and vice, questions such as what is evil, the origin of evil, how to deal with and cure evil.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=236-237}}

=The other texts=

The manuscripts of several other texts which claim to be part of the Skanda Purāṇa are found partially or wholly. Some of the notable regional texts amongst these are: {{IAST|Himavat Khaṇḍa}} which contains Nepālamāhātmya (30 chapters, Nepal Tirtha region), {{IAST|Kanakādri Khaṇḍa}}, {{IAST|Bhīma Khaṇḍa}}, {{IAST|Śivarahasya Khaṇḍa}}, {{IAST|Sahyādri Khaṇḍa}}, {{IAST|Ayodhyā Khaṇḍa}}, {{IAST|Mathurā Khaṇḍa}} and {{IAST|Pātāla Khaṇḍa}}.

Kaverimahatmya presents stories and a pilgrim guide for the Kaveri river (Karnataka) and Coorg Tirtha region.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=237}} Vivsamitrimahatmya presents mythology and a guide for the Vadodara Tirtha region.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=237}}

The oldest known 1st-millennium palm-leaf manuscripts of this text mention many major Hindu pilgrimage sites, but do not describe Kailash-Manasarovar. The later versions do, particularly in Manasakhanda.

=The narratives=

The Skanda Purana, like many Puranas, include the legends of the Daksha's sacrifice, Shiva's sorrow, churning of the ocean (Samudra manthan) and the emergence of Amrita, the story of the demon Tarakasura, the birth of Goddess Parvati, her pursuit of Shiva, and her marriage to Lord Shiva, among others.

The central aim of the Skandapurana text, states Hans Bakker, is to sanctify the geography and landscape of South Asia, and legitimize the regional Shaiva communities across the land, as it existed at the time the edition was produced.{{Sfn|Bakker|2014|pp=10-11}} The text reflects the political uncertainties, the competition with Vaishnavism, and the cultural developments with the Pashupata Hindus during the periods it was composed.{{Sfn|Bakker|2014|pp=11-13}}

Manuscripts

The Skanda Purana manuscripts have been found in Nepal, Tamil Nadu (Tamil: கந்த புராணம்) and other parts of India. The Skanda Purana is among of the oldest dated manuscripts discovered in Nepal. A palm-leaf manuscript of the text is preserved at the National Archives of Nepal (NAK 2–229), and its digital version has been archived by Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project (NGMCP B 11–4). It is likely that the manuscript was copied by the scribe on Monday, March 10 811 CE, though there is some uncertainty with this date because the samvat of this manuscript is unclear.{{cite journal|author= Kengo Harimoto| title= In search of the Oldest Nepalese Manuscript|journal= Rivista degli Studi Orientali| volume=84|year=2011|pages=85–90}};
[http://catalogue-old.ngmcp.uni-hamburg.de/mediawiki/index.php/A_38-5_Saddharmapu%E1%B9%87%E1%B8%8Dar%C4%ABka(s%C5%ABtra) A 38-5 Saddharmapuṇḍarīka(sūtra)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129034635/http://catalogue-old.ngmcp.uni-hamburg.de/mediawiki/index.php/A_38-5_Saddharmapu%E1%B9%87%E1%B8%8Dar%C4%ABka(s%C5%ABtra) |date=2020-11-29 }}, University of Hamburg, Germany Michael Witzel dates this Nepalese manuscript to about 810 CE.{{cite journal|author= M Witzel| year=1986| title= On the Archetype of Pantanjali's Mahabhasya| journal= Indo-Iranian Journal|volume = 29|pages=249–259}} This manuscript was discovered as one in a group of seven different texts bound together. The group included fourteen manuscripts mostly Buddhist, six of which are very old Saddharma Pundarika Sutra manuscripts, one of Upalisutra, one Chinese Buddhist text, and one Bhattikavya Buddhist yamaka text. The Skanda Purana found in this manuscripts collection is written in transitional Gupta script, Sanskrit.

The 1910 edition included seven {{IAST|khaṇḍa}}s (parts): {{IAST|Maheśvara}}, {{IAST|Viṣṇu}} or {{IAST|Vaiṣṇava}}, Brahma, {{IAST|Kāśī}}, {{IAST|Āvantya}}, {{IAST|Nāgara}} and {{IAST|Prabhāsa}}.Shastri, P. (1995) Introduction to the Puranas, New Delhi: Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, pp.118–20 In 1999–2003, an English translation of this text was published by the Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi in 23 volumes. This translation is also based on a text divided into seven {{IAST|khaṇḍa}}s.

= Critical Edition =

The Skandapurāṇa, vol. I, adhyāyas 1-25, edited by Rob Adriaensen, Hans T. Bakker, and Harunaga Isaacson, 1998; vol. IIa, adhyāyas 26-31.14, ed. by Hans T. Bakker and Harunaga Isaacson, 2005; vol. IIb, adhyāyas 31-52, ed. by Hans T. Bakker, Peter C. Bisschop, and Yuko Yokochi, 2014; vol. III, adhyāyas 34.1-61, 53-69, ed. by Yuko Yokochi, 2013. Supplement to the [http://www.brill.com/publications/groningen-oriental-studies Groningen Oriental Studies], Groningen: Egbert Forsten, and Leiden: Brill.

References

=Works cited=

{{cite book |first=Hans |last=Bakker |title=The World of the Skandapurāṇa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6p2XCgAAQBAJ |year=2014 |publisher=BRILL Academic |isbn=978-90-04-27714-4}}
{{cite book |editor-last=Doniger |editor-first=Wendy |title={{IAST|Purāṇa}} Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts |year=1993 |publisher=State University of New York |location=Albany, New York |isbn= 0-7914-1382-9 }}
{{cite book |first=Ariel |last=Glucklich |title=The Strides of Vishnu: Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KtLScrjrWiAC |year=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-971825-2 }}
{{Cite book |first=Ludo |last=Rocher |year= 1986 |title=The Puranas |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3447025225}}

External links

[https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-skanda-purana The Skanda Purana] Proofread (full) English translation by G. V. Tagare, 1950 (includes glossary and IAST diacritics)
[https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192901/http://is1.mum.edu/vedicreserve/skanda.htm Original Sanskrit Text]
[http://www.bharatadesam.com/spiritual/skanda_purana.php Excerpts from Skanda Purana]
[https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/research/research-projects/humanities/the-skandapurāṇa-project The Skandapurāṇa Project]
[http://sarit.indology.info/skandapurana.xml?view=div Skandapurana : Devanagari], A SARIT Initiative, P. C. Bisschop
[https://holybooks.com/the-skanda-purana-vol-i-xx/ The Complete Skanda Purana] The complete 20 volumes of Skanda Purana English translation by G. V. Tagare, 1950

Category:Puranas

Category:Shaiva texts

Category:Kaumaram