Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5
देव्युवाच । किमसौ रोगवान्राजा सार्वभौमो महीपतिः । तस्य धर्मरतस्यापि कस्माद्रोग समुद्भवः
devyuvāca | kimasau rogavānrājā sārvabhaumo mahīpatiḥ | tasya dharmaratasyāpi kasmādroga samudbhavaḥ
தேவி கூறினாள்— அந்தச் சக்கரவர்த்தி, பூமியின் அதிபதி, ஏன் நோயுற்றவன்? தர்மத்தில் ஈடுபட்டிருந்தும் அவனுக்கு இந்த நோய் எந்தக் காரணத்தால் எழுந்தது?
Devī (the Goddess)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Īśvara (Śiva)
Scene: Devī, seated beside Īśvara in a sacred grove near Prabhāsa, questions the paradox of a dharmic universal monarch afflicted by disease; sages listen attentively.
FAQs
Even a dharma-minded ruler can face suffering; the Purāṇas often use such questions to introduce karmic causality and hidden faults like pride or transgression.
The passage belongs to Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya (Prabhāsa region), though this verse itself sets up the narrative rather than naming a specific tīrtha.
No direct ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse; it is an inquiry initiating the teaching.