Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32
तथापि मुच्यते नैव यक्ष्मणा स निशापतिः । दक्षशापेन रौद्रेण क्षयं याति दिनेदिने
tathāpi mucyate naiva yakṣmaṇā sa niśāpatiḥ | dakṣaśāpena raudreṇa kṣayaṃ yāti dinedine
എന്നാലും നിശാപതി (ചന്ദ്രൻ) യക്ഷ്മയിൽ നിന്ന് മോചിതനാകുന്നില്ല; ദക്ഷന്റെ ക്രൂരശാപം മൂലം അവൻ ദിനംപ്രതി ക്ഷയിക്കുന്നു।
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya context; speaker not explicit in this snippet)
Scene: The Moon-god, visibly waning, stands under a darkening sky; a fiery, austere Dakṣa appears in memory/vision, his curse like a red flame binding Soma as the lunar orb thins day by day.
FAQs
Even celestial power cannot override the moral force of a righteous curse; suffering becomes a catalyst to seek sacred refuge (tīrtha) and dharmic remedy.
The surrounding passage is oriented toward Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsa), where the Moon will seek a remedy.
No direct ritual is stated in this verse; it establishes the affliction that leads to tīrtha-yātrā and purificatory practices later.