Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 33
तं दृष्ट्वा भगवाञ्छंभुस्तीव्रं तीवपराक्रमः । भक्षयामास राजेंद्र नीलकण्ठस्ततोऽभवत्
taṃ dṛṣṭvā bhagavāñchaṃbhustīvraṃ tīvaparākramaḥ | bhakṣayāmāsa rājeṃdra nīlakaṇṭhastato'bhavat
فلما رأى بهاجَفان شَمبهو ذلك السُّمَّ المهيب، وهو ذو بأسٍ لا يُقاوَم، ابتلعه يا أيها الملك؛ ومن ذلك الفعل اشتهر باسم «نِيلَكَنْثَه» ربِّ الحلق الأزرق.
Purāṇic narrator (contextual; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa-type narration within Māhātmya frame)
Tirtha: Nīlakaṇṭha (as a sacred epithet often attached to a kṣetra/temple)
Type: kshetra
Listener: King (राजेन्द्र)
Scene: Śambhu stands serene yet fierce; he lifts the poison to his lips and swallows; his throat turns deep blue; devas and asuras watch in stunned reverence; the cosmos steadies.
FAQs
Śiva embodies compassionate guardianship—accepting suffering to protect creation—revealing dharma as selfless responsibility.
This verse is within a Tīrthamāhātmya setting, but this specific line narrates the Nīlakaṇṭha episode rather than naming a distinct tīrtha.
No direct ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse.