Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 71
गर्भकुम्भे तथा क्षिप्तः पच्यते जठराग्निना । सूचीभिरग्निवर्णाभिर्विभिन्नस्य निरन्तरम्
garbhakumbhe tathā kṣiptaḥ pacyate jaṭharāgninā | sūcībhiragnivarṇābhirvibhinnasya nirantaram
مُلقىً في الرحم كأنه قدر، يُطبَخ بنار البطن؛ ويُثقب بلا انقطاع كأن آلامًا كالإبر، متوهجة كلون النار، تمزقه.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)
Scene: A fetus curled within a pot-like womb, surrounded by fiery heat and needle-like pains visualized as glowing points; the scene is symbolic, emphasizing suffering and confinement rather than anatomical realism.
FAQs
By portraying birth as severe suffering, the text urges dispassion and a turn toward liberation.
No sacred geography is referenced in this verse.
No; the verse is descriptive and didactic rather than ritual-instructional.