Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 24
विचरामि महीमेतां मदांध इव वारणः । शिवभक्तिं विहायाथ नृपोऽहं मदनातुरः
vicarāmi mahīmetāṃ madāṃdha iva vāraṇaḥ | śivabhaktiṃ vihāyātha nṛpo'haṃ madanāturaḥ
میں اس زمین پر یوں گھومتا رہا جیسے نشے میں اندھا ہاتھی۔ شِو بھکتی کو چھوڑ کر، میں—بادشاہ ہو کر بھی—خواہشِ نفس سے بے قرار ہو گیا۔
Unspecified narrator (within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa discourse, likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa)
Listener: nṛpa (king)
Scene: A king wanders restlessly, eyes clouded by intoxication and desire, contrasted with a faint, neglected Śiva shrine in the background—devotion abandoned.
FAQs
When devotion and restraint are abandoned, pride and desire can overpower even the powerful, leading to spiritual decline.
No specific sacred site is mentioned; the verse is ethical and introspective.
Implicitly, maintaining Śiva-bhakti as a stabilizing discipline; no explicit ritual is stated.