Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 111
राज्यं चिरायुरिति मे घृतकम्बलस्य जातिस्मरत्वमधुनापि तथानु भावान् । शापाद्बकत्वमभवन्मुनिगालवस्य तद्भद्र सर्वमुदितं भवताद्य पृष्टम्
rājyaṃ cirāyuriti me ghṛtakambalasya jātismaratvamadhunāpi tathānu bhāvān | śāpādbakatvamabhavanmunigālavasya tadbhadra sarvamuditaṃ bhavatādya pṛṣṭam
« Royauté » et « longue vie » : telles furent mes expériences lorsque j’étais Ghṛtakambala ; aujourd’hui encore je me souviens de ces naissances et de leurs effets. Par la malédiction du sage Gālava, je devins une grue. Ô noble être, j’ai maintenant dit tout ce que tu as demandé. »
Nāḍījaṃgha-baka (the crane)
Scene: A reflective narrator gestures as if recounting past lives; faint layered imagery shows a kingly figure (Ghṛtakambala), then a crane, connected by a thread of karma; the listener appears attentive.
FAQs
The Purāṇas frame destiny as ethically conditioned: past actions and holy or unholy conduct bear fruit across births, sometimes remembered by the jātismara.
This verse is more biographical than topographical; the broader passage remains situated in the Himācala sacred setting.
No direct ritual instruction appears; the verse concludes a testimony explaining the cause of the crane-form.