Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38
विभवस्ते महाभाग प्रणश्यति निशाक्षये । एतत्कीर्तय मे गुह्यं न चेत्प्रेतप संस्थितम् । अत्र कौतूहलं जातं दृष्ट्वेदं सुविचेष्टितम्
vibhavaste mahābhāga praṇaśyati niśākṣaye | etatkīrtaya me guhyaṃ na cetpretapa saṃsthitam | atra kautūhalaṃ jātaṃ dṛṣṭvedaṃ suviceṣṭitam
«Ô bienheureux, ta splendeur s’évanouit lorsque la nuit s’achève. Révèle-moi ce secret ; sinon, tu serais vraiment établi comme seigneur des Prétas. En voyant ce prodige si bien ordonné, une vive curiosité s’est levée en moi.»
Narrator (contextual; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in Purāṇic narration; direct speech by the Śūdra within the narrative)
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara (implied)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A seeker addresses a radiant, uncanny preta whose splendor fades at dawn; the seeker, astonished, requests the secret behind the well-ordered marvel.
FAQs
Even extraordinary power is time-bound; seeking the ‘secret’ behind it turns curiosity into spiritual inquiry aligned with dharma.
The verse signals a tīrtha-related secret, but the precise site name is not present within this line alone.
None explicitly; the verse is a request for revelation rather than an injunction.