Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 44
द्विजराजः स गर्विष्ठो रोहिणीप्रेमनिर्भरः । कृत्तिकादिषु चास्नेही मया शप्तः क्षयीकृतः
dvijarājaḥ sa garviṣṭho rohiṇīpremanirbharaḥ | kṛttikādiṣu cāsnehī mayā śaptaḥ kṣayīkṛtaḥ
That lord of the twice-born (the Moon), swollen with pride—wholly absorbed in love for Rohiṇī and showing no affection for Kṛttikā and the other wives—was cursed by me and thereby made to waste away.
Dakṣa Prajāpati (implied by the surrounding narrative of Dakṣa’s actions and grievance)
Scene: Dakṣa’s curse takes effect: the radiant Moon, once full and proud, begins to pale and diminish; Rohiṇī stands favored while Kṛttikā and other nakṣatra-wives appear slighted, their faces sorrowful; the cosmic sky becomes the stage of moral consequence.
FAQs
Partiality born of pride leads to imbalance and downfall; dharma requires fairness and restraint of attachment.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it belongs to the Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s broader sacred narrative frame.
None in this verse; it is a mythic-ethical account (ākhyāna) explaining a curse and its consequence.