Skandapurana 16.21

The Goddess said:
All the cause of the birth of the Moon has been heard in full.
Now declare how that mark of his came to be.

Īśvara said:
Formerly, O goddess, Brahmā had a son named Dakṣa.
Dakṣa was formerly commanded by the Self-born one: 'Create offspring!'

Dakṣa, the lord of creatures, fathered sixty daughters upon Vairiṇī.
He gave ten to Dharma, and thirteen to Kaśyapa;

Twenty-seven to the Moon, and four to Ariṣṭanemi;
Two to the son of Bhṛgu, and two to the wise Kṛśāśva;

And likewise two to Aṅgiras. Listen in detail to their names,
O goddess, the mothers, and the expansion of their offspring from the beginning:

Marutvatī, Vasu, Jāmī, Lambā, Bhānu, Arundhatī,
Saṃkalpā, Muhūrtā, Sādhyā, and Viśvā, O spirited woman:

These are declared to be the wives of Dharma, whom Dakṣa, son of Pracetas, bestowed.
Likewise Aditi, Diti, Danu, Ariṣṭā, and Surasā;

Surabhi, Vinatā, and the one named Krodhavaśā, Ilā,
Kadrū, Tviṣā, and likewise Vasu. Truly, I shall declare their sons:

Viśvā bore the Viśvedevas; Sādhyā gave birth to the Sādhyas;
In Marutvatī were born the Marutvats; and from Vasu, the Vasus;

From Bhānu, the Bhānus; through him, in Muhūrtā, the Muhūrtakas;
From Lambā, those named Ghoṣa; and Nāgavīthī was born of Jāmī;

And from Saṃkalpā was born Saṃkalpa: these are known as the ten sons of Dharma.
Āpa, Dhruva, Soma, Dhara, Anala, Anila,

Pratyūṣa, and Prabhāsa are celebrated as the eight Vasus.
The sons of Āpa were Vaidaṇḍya, Śrama, Śānta, and Dhvani;

The son of Dhruva was the blessed Kāla, the driver of the world;
The sons of Soma were the blessed Śarva, and Dhruva, who awakens homes;

Draviṇa is remembered as the son of Dhara, the bearer of the sacrificial offering;
Manojava and Avijñātagati were the sons of Anila;

The blessed yogi Devala was the son of Pratyūṣa.
The sister of Bṛhaspati was Bhuvanā, who expounded the Veda;

She was the wife of Prabhāsa, the eighth of the Vasus.
His son was Viśvakarman, the creator of arts, a lord of creatures.

I shall tell you these names of the Sādhyas who are the Tuṣitas:
Manas, Anumantṛ, Prāṇa, Nara, and the vigorous Apāna,

Bhakti, Bhaya, Anagha, Haṃsa, and Nārāyaṇa,
Along with Vibhu and Prabhu: twelve Sādhyas are celebrated.

I will proclaim the progeny of Kaśyapa, O fair-complexioned lady:
Aṃśa, Dhātṛ, Bhaga, Tvaṣṭṛ, Mitra, then Varuṇa, Aryaman,

Vivasvat, Savitṛ, Pūṣan, Aṃśumat, and Viṣṇu:
These thousand-rayed ones are remembered as the twelve Ādityas.

Ajaikapād, Ahirbudhnya, Virūpākṣa, then Raivata,
Hara, Bahurūpa, Tryambaka, Sureśvara,

Sāvitra, Jayanta, Pinākin, and Aparājita:
These are declared to be the Rudras, the eleven lords of the gaṇas.

Diti obtained two sons from Kaśyapa, proud of their strength:
Hiraṇyakaśipu, the eldest, and likewise his younger brother Hiraṇyākṣa.

A verse concerning Hiraṇyakaśipu was sung by the ancient Daityas:

'Whichever direction King Hiraṇyakaśipu looks upon,
In that very direction the gods together with the great seers bowed down.'
The sons of Hiraṇyakaśipu were four, of very great might.

Prahlāda was the eldest of them; Anuhrāda was after him; / and Hrāda and Hrada are proclaimed to be their sons.

Both Sunda and Upasunda were the sons of Hrada. / Hrāda had one son, celebrated as Mūka.

Mārīca, the son of Sunda, was born of Tāḍakā; / he was slain in the Daṇḍaka forest by the mighty descendant of Raghu.

Mūka too was slain by Savyasācin in Kirāta guise. / In the lineage of the daitya Saṃhrāda were the Nivātakavacas:

thirty million renowned ones were slain by Savyasācin. / Gaveṣṭhin, Kālanemi, Jambha, and Valkala,

and Jṛmbha, their sixth and youngest, are remembered as the sons of Prahrāda. / Śumbha and Niśumbha are recorded as the two sons of Gaveṣṭhin.

Dhanuka and Asiloman are declared to be the two sons of Śumbha. / Virocana, however, had one glorious son, Bali.

Hiraṇyākṣa had five valiant and exceedingly powerful sons: / Andhaka, Śakuni, and Kālanābha,

as well as the valiant Mahānābha and Bhūtasaṃtāpana. / One hundred hundred-thousands of them were slain in the Tārakāmaya war.

Thus the lineage of the descendants of Kaśyapa has been stated in brief, / by which the entire world, containing gods, asuras, and mortals, was pervaded.

Now, of the twenty-seven maidens given to the Moon, / among them, O great goddess, Rohiṇī was his beloved.

Then, among them, the goddess Rohiṇī became exceedingly dear / to the lord of the asterisms, dearer even than his own breaths of life.

Abandoning all of them, he sported in secret with Rohiṇī, / his mind overwhelmed by desire, in forests and groves, / in delightful regions, in ravines, and in caves.

Then the remaining wives, filled with grief, O glorious one, / went to Dakṣa for refuge and spoke these words:

“Soma, having neglected all of us, delights with Rohiṇī, / sporting as he pleases for a thousand years.

The remaining twenty-six of us have become wretched and stripped of splendor. / Ever since marriage, the Moon, together with Rohiṇī,

regards a thousand years as merely a single night. / We, father, although free of fault, have been abandoned by the Moon.

He delights with Rohiṇī, bringing misery upon us. / For us, consumed by sorrow, death would be better than this.”

Hearing those words of theirs, tormented by distress, the Prajāpati, / endowed with brāhmaṇa-splendor and distressed by affection for his daughters, / went to where the lord of constellations was, and spoke these words:

“Behave equally toward my daughters, O maker of the night. / Otherwise, you will incur fault—of this there is no doubt.”

Hearing his words, standing bowed with shame, / the lord of the stars said to Dakṣa, “Very well.”

“From this day forward, O brahmin-seer, I shall behave equally / toward your daughters; truly, I swear to you by an oath.”

When the lord of the night had thus bound himself by a vow, O Ambikā, / all the daughters, endowed with beauty, were committed to him.

Dakṣa, having gone to his own abode, attained supreme relief. / The Moon, however, O goddess, became devoted to Rohiṇī just as before.

Abandoning all of them, his mind stricken by passion, / then again all of them spoke these words to Dakṣa:

They were unclean, their limbs emaciated, all miserable and distraught. / Thereupon, seeing them in such a state, Dakṣa fell into bewilderment.

Regaining consciousness, his body hair bristling with rage, / he spoke to all his daughters: “Why are your garments soiled like this? / Why are you all devoid of luster? Tell me, blameless ones!

Whether the asuras with their followers, or whoever else among the best of the gods [it may be], / I shall today make them struck down by a curse, O daughters—of this there is no doubt.”

Being thus addressed by Dakṣa, all of them declared:

“The lord of the night does not grant us even the time suitable for conception, O lord! / Therefore we have come again to your presence.

Disregarding your command, devoted to Rohiṇī in secret, / he has sported, his mind overwhelmed by desire, multiplying our grief.”

Hearing their words, Dakṣa was filled with wrath. / Going to the Moon standing before him, O great goddess, he cursed him:

“Since, disregarding my command, you remain devoted to Rohiṇī, / having abandoned the rest of my daughters who are free from fault, / therefore consumption shall seize your body, without a doubt.”

At that very moment, O daughter of the mountain, / consumption, commanded by Dakṣa, entered his body.

His body seized by consumption, he wasted away day by day.

Thus cursed by Dakṣa, the Moon, stripped of his luster, / fell to the earth motionless, O goddess, along with Rohiṇī.

Having regained consciousness after a moment, he spoke these words to Rohiṇī:

“O goddess, what is to be done now? Indeed, I have been cursed by your father! / Afflicted with consumptive disease, what shall I do now, beloved?”

Thus addressed, Rohiṇī, her eyes filled with tears, / seeing Soma stricken by Dakṣa's curse, spoke these words:

“Go for refuge to that very one by whom the curse was given to you. / He will surely bring about good for you who are overwhelmed by the curse.

By his grace, you will regain your former auspicious splendor.”

Hearing Rohiṇī's words, the Moon went near Dakṣa / and spoke with humility, his eyes filled with tears:

“Show favor, O Dakṣa, with a gracious inner heart. / Renounce your anger, O great seer, and have pity upon me!

Whether with cause or without cause [it was done] by you overwhelmed with wrath, / have compassion on me and effect the release of the curse!

It is known, O noble one, by what deed I was cursed; / grant favor, O Dakṣa, to me who am miserable and begging!”

As the great-souled Soma was thus lamenting, / making up his mind to grant grace, [Dakṣa] spoke these words:

Dakṣa said: / Struck down by my curse, O Soma, you cannot be protected by the gods. / Whatever I say, O Soma, is indeed so; there is no doubt.

Lifespan, actions, wealth, learning, and death itself— / whatever has been created beforehand, those indeed come to pass.

Asuras and gods, and whatever other yakṣas and rākṣasas there are, / are all incapable of protecting [you], except Maheśvara.

A curse was given to these by me, [and] Śaṃkara will bestow his grace. / No other could be able to protect [you], except Bhava, Paśupati. / Therefore go very quickly [and] worship Śaṃkara.

No one else is able, O Moon, to make you spotless again, / except Mahādeva, the blue-throated lord of Umā.

Having heard Dakṣa's speech, standing with hands folded in reverence, / Soma then replied with a heart filled with joy:

O Lord of good vows, if you are pleased with me, your devotee, / [and] your mind is made up to grant grace, then tell [me]: where is Śiva?

In what place, O Dakṣa, am I to behold that Maheśvara? / I will go to those places; speak to me of whichever they are.

Dakṣa said: / Listen attentively, O Soma, and having listened, keep it in mind: / having resorted to the western direction, near the shore of the ocean,

three hundred bow-lengths to the west of Kṛtasmara, / there stands a self-manifest liṅga of great power,

resembling the disk of the sun, adorned with a girdle of serpents, / the size of a hen's egg, situated in the midst of the earth.

Know it indeed as the Sparśaliṅga; you will recognize it through devotion to it. / Present there is the god Śaṃkara, Parameśvara.

Go, worship the lord of the gods through fierce austerity;

praising the god of the lords of gods, make yourself spotless. / By his swift granting of boons, you will attain an excellent form.

Thus ends the twenty-first chapter, entitled 'Description of the Instruction on Worshipping Śiva to Remove the Diseases of Consumption and Leprosy of the Moon Afflicted with Consumption Born of His Curse by Dakṣa, in the Context of the Origin of Someśvara', in the first [part], Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya, of the seventh Prabhāsakhaṇḍa in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].