Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 19
किं पुनर्जलसर्पोऽयं निर्विषो रज्जुसंनिभः । न मामुद्दिश्य निर्मुक्तः सर्पोऽनेन द्विजन्मना । शापमोक्षं कुरुष्वास्य तस्माच्छीघ्रं द्विजन्मनः
kiṃ punarjalasarpo'yaṃ nirviṣo rajjusaṃnibhaḥ | na māmuddiśya nirmuktaḥ sarpo'nena dvijanmanā | śāpamokṣaṃ kuruṣvāsya tasmācchīghraṃ dvijanmanaḥ
«À plus forte raison, que pourrait faire ce serpent d’eau—sans venin, semblable à une simple corde ? Cette forme de serpent n’a pas été relâchée par ce deux-fois-né en me visant. Aussi, ô dvija, accorde-lui vite la délivrance de la malédiction.»
Bhṛgu (continuing admonition/instruction to Cyavana)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A harmless water-snake, pale and rope-like, lies near a sacred water-edge while a concerned speaker urges a twice-born sage to grant immediate release from a curse; the atmosphere is tense yet compassionate.
FAQs
A curse should be lifted when its application is unjust; compassion and discernment are central to dharma.
The verse is part of the lead-up; the place-based resolution is connected with Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra mentioned later.
The prescription is juridical-spiritual rather than ritual: to perform śāpa-mokṣa (formal release from a curse).