अथ क्षुत्क्षामकंठोऽहं श्रीकंठं तं नमस्य च । पुनः प्रचलितो मार्गे प्रमीतो नृपसत्तम
atha kṣutkṣāmakaṃṭho'haṃ śrīkaṃṭhaṃ taṃ namasya ca | punaḥ pracalito mārge pramīto nṛpasattama
Then, my throat parched by hunger and exhaustion, I bowed in reverence to that Śrīkaṇṭha. Setting out again upon the road, O best of kings, I died along the way.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) narrating (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa convention)
Type: temple
Listener: Bhūpa (king)
Scene: A weak traveler, throat parched, turns back to bow to the liṅga of Śrīkaṇṭha; then staggers along the road and collapses, suggesting death, while the shrine remains luminous in the background.
Even amid hardship and approaching death, remembrance and reverence to Śiva remain the devotee’s true refuge.
The verse highlights devotion to Śrīkaṇṭha rather than naming a specific tīrtha; the wider chapter context may specify the locale.
Namas (bowing/salutation) to Śiva—an act of bhakti performed even without elaborate rites.