Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 18
सा त्वं रक्ष भयात्तस्माच्छापवह्निसमुद्भवात् । वयं मात्रा पुरा शप्ताः कस्मिंश्चित्कारणान्तरे । पारिक्षितस्य यज्ञे वः पावको भक्षयिष्यति
sā tvaṃ rakṣa bhayāttasmācchāpavahnisamudbhavāt | vayaṃ mātrā purā śaptāḥ kasmiṃścitkāraṇāntare | pārikṣitasya yajñe vaḥ pāvako bhakṣayiṣyati
«Aussi, protège-nous de cette peur née du feu de la malédiction. Jadis, pour une certaine raison, notre mère nous a maudits : dans le sacrifice du roi Parīkṣit, le feu vous dévorera, vous les serpents.»
Nāgas
Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly (frame implied)
Scene: Nāgas describe a blazing, unseen ‘curse-fire’ and a future sacrificial arena where flames devour serpents; Devī stands as a calm, luminous shield at the cavern.
FAQs
Even foretold calamity rooted in a curse can be met through divine refuge and protective grace.
The Arbuda setting frames the origin-story that later sanctifies Nāgahrada as a protective tīrtha.
A yajña context is referenced (Parīkṣit’s sacrifice), highlighting the power—and danger—of sacrificial fire when directed against beings.