Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 58
एवं तदा दमनकोत्सव ईश्वरस्य आंदोलनेन नृपवेश्मनि मेऽवतारः । शम्भोर्गणत्वमभवच्च तथाग्निवेश्यशापेन गृध्र इह भद्र तवेदमुक्तम्
evaṃ tadā damanakotsava īśvarasya āṃdolanena nṛpaveśmani me'vatāraḥ | śambhorgaṇatvamabhavacca tathāgniveśyaśāpena gṛdhra iha bhadra tavedamuktam
Ainsi, en ce temps-là—lors de la fête de Damanaka du Seigneur et du rite de la balançoire (āndolana) d’Īśvara—eut lieu ma descente dans le palais du roi. J’obtins aussi le rang de gaṇa de Śambhu ; et ici, ô homme de bien, par la malédiction d’Agniveśya je devins un vautour. Voilà ce qui t’a été dit.
Gṛdhra (the vulture), speaking to Indradyumna (contextual)
Tirtha: Īśvara-āndolana (swing festival context)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Indradyumna (addressed as 'bhadra')
Scene: A grand Śaiva festival in a royal palace: Īśvara’s swing (āndolana) is being ceremonially moved; amid lamps, flowers, and music, the narrator’s ‘descent’ occurs and he gains gaṇa-status, yet bears Agniveśya’s curse as a vulture.
FAQs
Even exalted beings can fall through a curse, yet divine association (Śiva’s gaṇas) and truthful narration become steps toward restoration and clarity of karma.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is on Śiva’s festival context and the karmic backstory within the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa narrative.
A festival observance is referenced—Īśvara’s Damanaka-utsava and the āṃdolana (ceremonial swing)—but no direct injunction for dāna, snāna, or japa appears in this verse.