Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 67
अहो चित्रमहो दुःखमहो पापबलं महत् । अहो राज्ञः प्रभावोयं शिवाराधनसंभृतः
aho citramaho duḥkhamaho pāpabalaṃ mahat | aho rājñaḥ prabhāvoyaṃ śivārādhanasaṃbhṛtaḥ
അഹോ, എത്ര വിചിത്രം! അഹോ, എത്ര ദുഃഖം! അഹോ, പാപബലം എത്ര മഹത്തരം! അഹോ, ശിവാരാധനയാൽ സമ്പാദിതമായ ഈ രാജപ്രഭാവം!
Narrator/character voice (lamenting observer; exact speaker not explicit in the snippet)
Scene: A speaker exclaims repeatedly—strange, grievous, sinful power—marveling at a king’s might born of Śiva worship; emotional intensity and moral disquiet dominate.
FAQs
Power gained through devotion is real, but misused power entangled with pāpa becomes a cause of suffering—Purāṇic dharma demands righteousness alongside bhakti.
No specific site is named; the verse highlights Śiva-worship as a source of potency.
Only the general act of Śiva-ārādhana (worship of Śiva) is referenced, without a specific rite described.