Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 169
निशाचरस्य धर्मेण यस्मादूढा सुता मम । निशाचरो भवानस्तु कर्मणानेन सांप्रतम्
niśācarasya dharmeṇa yasmādūḍhā sutā mama | niśācaro bhavānastu karmaṇānena sāṃpratam
«Puisque tu as pris ma fille à la manière d’un rôdeur de la nuit, par cet acte même—à l’instant—deviens toi-même un niśācara !»
Bhārgava (the brāhmaṇa father)
Type: kshetra
Listener: the accused addressed as ‘bhavān’
Scene: Bhārgava stands with raised hand in a commanding mudrā, eyes blazing; the accused stands startled as the curse lands; the maiden remains downcast; witnesses recoil, sensing the metaphysical shift toward niśācara-hood.
FAQs
One becomes shaped by one’s actions: adharma performed like a predator yields a fitting karmic identity.
No specific tīrtha is cited in this verse; the tīrtha-māhātmya frame contextualizes the moral episode.
None; it declares a curse based on karmic correspondence.