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
तरीही निशापती (चंद्र) यक्ष्म्यापासून मुक्त होत नाही; दक्षाच्या रौद्र शापामुळे तो दिवसेंदिवस क्षीण होत जातो।
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.