Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 28
कृन्तश्चैकोनपञ्चाशत्कृत्वो गर्भो मया शुभे । तावन्मात्रास्ततो जाता बालकाः सर्व एव ते
kṛntaścaikonapañcāśatkṛtvo garbho mayā śubhe | tāvanmātrāstato jātā bālakāḥ sarva eva te
Ô toi l’auspicieuse, j’ai tranché l’embryon quarante-neuf fois ; et de ces parts, tous, sans exception, devinrent des enfants.
Śakra (Indra)
Scene: Indra (Śakra) with vajra-like sword stands near a luminous womb/embryo motif; the embryo is shown divided into many radiant child-forms, each emerging as a small deity, while Diti’s maternal presence looms with grief and astonishment.
FAQs
Purāṇas depict how even harmful acts can be redirected by divine will into cosmic order—yet the wrongdoing still bears consequences.
The broader chapter is a tīrtha-māhātmya in Nāgarakhaṇḍa (Adhyāya 22); the site is not named in this verse.
No ritual instruction appears; this is etiological narration (origin-story).