Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21
न च ताभ्यां सुतो जातः कथंचिदपि वंशजः । वयसोंऽतेऽपि विप्रेंद्रास्ततो दुःखं व्यजायत
na ca tābhyāṃ suto jātaḥ kathaṃcidapi vaṃśajaḥ | vayasoṃ'te'pi vipreṃdrāstato duḥkhaṃ vyajāyata
แต่ไม่ว่าด้วยประการใด ทั้งสองก็หาได้มีบุตร—ผู้สืบสายวงศ์—บังเกิดไม่เลย โอ้พราหมณ์ผู้ประเสริฐ แม้ยามปลายชีวิต ความทุกข์ก็ผุดขึ้นจากเหตุนั้น
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Śaunaka-saṃvāda context; Nāgarakhaṇḍa tīrthamāhātmya narration)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Brāhmaṇa interlocutor addressed as viprendra (explicit)
Scene: An aged royal couple in private chambers; the emptiness of the nursery/lineage symbols (unlit lamp, unused cradle) contrasts with their former splendor; a brāhmaṇa sage is addressed as viprendra.
FAQs
Worldly sorrow, such as grief over lineage, becomes the catalyst for turning toward tapas and sacred worship.
The narrative is moving toward the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra and the manifestation known as Raivateśvara, praised later in this adhyāya.
No direct rite is prescribed here; it sets the motive for later tapas and deity-worship for obtaining a son.