Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2
एतत्सर्वं समाचक्ष्व परं कौतूहलं हि नः । कथं शापान्विता देवाः संस्थितास्तत्र मण्डपे
etatsarvaṃ samācakṣva paraṃ kautūhalaṃ hi naḥ | kathaṃ śāpānvitā devāḥ saṃsthitāstatra maṇḍape
Ceritakanlah kepada kami semuanya dengan lengkap, kerana rasa ingin tahu kami amat besar. Bagaimanakah para dewa, yang memikul beban sumpahan, tetap berhimpun di sana dalam mandapa itu?
Ṛṣis (the assembled sages)
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (maṇḍapa episode)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūta
Scene: Sages press the narrator for details: the gods, burdened by a curse, remain gathered in a pavilion—faces solemn yet resolute; the maṇḍapa appears as a sacred hall with pillars and ritual implements.
FAQs
Even divine beings are shown as operating within moral order (dharma) where words and curses have force, prompting reflection on accountability.
The setting remains the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya within Nāgara Khaṇḍa.
No explicit prescription; “maṇḍapa” suggests a ritual setting, but the verse is interrogative.