Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9
या नारी दुर्भगा वन्ध्या साऽपि पुत्रवती भवेत् । चैत्रे मासि सिताष्टम्यां भक्तियोगसमन्विता । महानिशायां तत्रैव नैवेद्यबलिपिंडिकाम्
yā nārī durbhagā vandhyā sā'pi putravatī bhavet | caitre māsi sitāṣṭamyāṃ bhaktiyogasamanvitā | mahāniśāyāṃ tatraiva naivedyabalipiṃḍikām
Même une femme infortunée et stérile peut devenir mère d’un fils si—munie de la discipline de la dévotion (bhakti-yoga)—au mois de Caitra, le huitième jour clair (Śuklāṣṭamī), au cœur de la nuit, en ce lieu même, elle prépare une piṇḍikā avec naivedya et l’offrande bali.
Narrative voice (contextual Purāṇic narrator; explicit speaker not in this verse)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A barren woman, veiled and prayerful, arrives at a sacred Devī site in the deep night of Caitra Śuklāṣṭamī; she prepares a small offering-ball (piṇḍikā) with naivedya and a bali offering near lamps, under a starry sky, before the shrine.
FAQs
Devotional observance at a tīrtha—performed with faith and discipline—can transform even severe misfortune into auspicious fruit.
The verse points to the same sacred spot within the Dhārātīrtha origin narrative (Dhārātīrtha context in Nāgara Khaṇḍa, Tīrthamāhātmya).
On Caitra bright eighth (Śuklāṣṭamī), during the deep night, prepare/offer a piṇḍikā together with naivedya (food offering) and bali (ritual oblation).