Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 67
अहो चित्रमहो दुःखमहो पापबलं महत् । अहो राज्ञः प्रभावोयं शिवाराधनसंभृतः
aho citramaho duḥkhamaho pāpabalaṃ mahat | aho rājñaḥ prabhāvoyaṃ śivārādhanasaṃbhṛtaḥ
அஹோ, எத்தனை விசித்திரம்! அஹோ, எத்தனை துயரம்! அஹோ, பாவத்தின் வலிமை எத்தனை பெரிது! அஹோ, சிவாராதனையால் சேர்க்கப்பட்ட அரசனின் இந்தப் பெருமை!
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.