Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 43
मुखं वलिभिराक्रान्तं पलितैरंकितं शिरः । कन्याभावेपि वर्तंत्या न च तुष्टा हरप्रिया
mukhaṃ valibhirākrāntaṃ palitairaṃkitaṃ śiraḥ | kanyābhāvepi vartaṃtyā na ca tuṣṭā harapriyā
غزا التجاعيد وجهها، ووُسِم رأسها بالشيب؛ ومع أنها بقيت عذراء، فإن حبيبة هارا، بارفتي، لم ترضَ بعد.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)
Scene: The devotee, still unmarried and steadfast, now visibly aged—wrinkled face, grey-streaked hair—stands or sits before the shrine of Pārvatī; the Goddess remains unappeased, heightening pathos and existential reflection.
FAQs
Outer hardship and the passage of time do not by themselves compel grace; devotion is portrayed as being tested and refined.
Not specified in this verse; it continues the tīrtha-māhātmya storyline focused on the devotee’s ordeal.
None newly; the verse emphasizes the long duration and severity of prior observances.