Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 8
एतत्प्रसूतिसमये आमयेन प्रपीडिता । शुकी पंचत्वमापन्ना शुकः श्येनेन भक्षितः
etatprasūtisamaye āmayena prapīḍitā | śukī paṃcatvamāpannā śukaḥ śyenena bhakṣitaḥ
Au moment même de la mise bas, la femelle perroquet, accablée par la maladie, rendit son dernier souffle ; et le petit perroquet fut dévoré par un faucon.
Narrator (Skanda, in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa narration to Agastya context)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and sages at Naimiṣāraṇya (frame typical)
Scene: A nest scene at the edge of a sacred grove near Kāśī: a diseased mother-parrot dying in childbirth while a hawk seizes the fledgling; distant ghāṭas and a faint liṅga silhouette suggest the Avimukta presence.
FAQs
Worldly life is fragile—death can come through disease or violence—preparing the ground for seeking refuge in divine grace and dharma.
The wider setting is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa, though this verse itself describes the incident that leads into Śiva’s intervention rather than naming a specific tīrtha.
None in this verse; it narrates the calamity that motivates the ensuing divine dialogue.