Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4
मार्कण्डेय उवाच । पुरा शप्तो मुनीन्द्रेण दक्षेण किल भारत । असेवनाद्धि दाराणां क्षयरोगी भविष्यसि
mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | purā śapto munīndreṇa dakṣeṇa kila bhārata | asevanāddhi dārāṇāṃ kṣayarogī bhaviṣyasi
Mārkaṇḍeya bersabda: Wahai Bhārata, pada zaman dahulu Soma benar-benar telah disumpah oleh mahāmuni Dakṣa: ‘Kerana engkau tidak bergaul dengan para isteri menurut dharma, engkau akan ditimpa penyakit susut (kṣaya-roga).’
Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-cycle (contextual frame)
Type: river
Listener: Bhārata (addressed as ‘O Bhārata’—a royal/heroic interlocutor within the frame narrative)
Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya narrates the ancient curse: Dakṣa, austere and radiant, pronounces a śāpa upon Soma, whose lunar glow appears diminished, foreshadowing wasting disease.
FAQs
Neglect of one’s dharmic responsibilities leads to downfall, while the Purāṇas also point toward remedies through repentance and sacred means.
Indirectly Somatīrtha, since the curse narrative sets up Soma’s later purification and siddhi at that site.
No explicit rite; the verse states the ethical cause (asevana) behind the curse and resulting affliction.