Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 55
सोऽपि चौरो निराशश्च क्षुत्क्षामः शीतविह्वलः । अवतीर्य द्रुमात्तस्मादुपायं कंचिदाश्रितः
so'pi cauro nirāśaśca kṣutkṣāmaḥ śītavihvalaḥ | avatīrya drumāttasmādupāyaṃ kaṃcidāśritaḥ
وہ چور بھی—مایوس، بھوک سے نڈھال اور سردی سے لرزاں—اس درخت سے نیچے اترا اور کسی تدبیر کا سہارا لینے لگا۔
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)
Scene: A gaunt thief, shivering and hungry, climbs down from a tree at dawn, eyes darting as he devises a plan—caught between vice and the pull of the nearby Śiva presence.
FAQs
Even a fallen person, driven by suffering, can turn toward a new course—setting the stage for grace through dharmic contact.
The setting remains the Śiva-liṅga/temple sphere of Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; the verse itself focuses on the character’s condition.
None directly; it advances the narrative that leads to the later stated Śivarātri fast and worship.