Skandapurana 5.63

Sūta said:
Now, there is a very splendid liṅga named Someśvara
renowned in the three worlds, fashioned by Soma himself.

He who worships it there on Mondays for a year,
devoting [even] a moment to it, is freed even from terrible disease,

even from consumption, without a doubt, not to mention leprosy and the like.
Therefore, one afflicted with illness should worship it with every effort.

Having worshipped it in ancient times, Soma, afflicted with the disease of consumption,
became free of disease in his body, as did the king of the Pāṇḍyas.

The seers said:
How did Soma, the lord of medicinal plants, O son of Sūta,
contract the disease of consumption in former times, and how did he find relief?

Tell us all this in detail, O highly wise one,
and also the auspicious story of that king of the Pāṇḍyas.

Sūta said:
In former times, the lord of the night married the daughters of Dakṣa,
twenty-seven in number, in the presence of the gods, fire, and the guru.

They are celebrated as the Nakṣatras in the world by the best of brahmins
and astrologers, beginning with Aśvinī, endowed with beauty, generosity, and virtues.

Then, among all of them, Rohiṇī became beloved
to that lord of the night, dearer to him than his very life.

Abandoning all those daughters of Dakṣa equally,
he united with Rohiṇī day and night.

Tormented by desire and afflicted with misfortune,
they then went in sorrow, their faces bathed in tears, and said to Dakṣa:

"To that sinner to whom we were given as wives by you, O father,
he does not out of affection grant us even the time suitable for conception.

Therefore, entering the fire, we shall abandon our lives
without delay, O blessed one; we speak the truth before you."

Sūta said:
Hearing their words, Dakṣa was filled with grief.
Taking all of them himself, he went to the presence of the moon.

Then Dakṣa, the progenitor of creatures, immediately spoke,
rebuking the lord of the night repeatedly with harsh words:

"Is it proper for you to do this, O vile lord of the night?
O fool, [this is] an act foreign to the virtuous and condemned by the Dharmaśāstras!

Since, even when the time suitable for conception has arrived, you do not converse affectionately
with my daughters, do you not know the Dharmaśāstra?

He who does not approach his wife who has bathed after her season,
becomes bound to terrible embryo-murder; of this there is no doubt."

Hearing his words, the lord of the night, ashamed
and looking downwards, said to Dakṣa: "I shall carry out your word."

Then, delighted in mind, having entrusted all his daughters
to the cold-rayed one and taken leave of him, Dakṣa went to his own abode.

The moon also, abandoning all those daughters of Dakṣa just as before,
consorted passionately with Rohiṇī.

Then, aggrieved once again, they went to where their father was
and, their eyes filled with tears, spoke words suited to that moment:

"This is the great sorrow in our hearts, O father:
the misfortune that has befallen us, condemned by all womankind.

And moreover, that you were made to exert yourself in vain by that wicked, lustful one,
as if you carried no authority, though you went yourself on our behalf—

we are not able to bear that sorrow in our hearts in any way.
For the moon takes his pleasure with Rohiṇī day and night,

even though the lord of the night was explicitly forbidden by your word.
Therefore, grant us permission now,
so that, burned by the sorrow of misfortune, we may cast off our lives."

Sūta said: / Hearing those words of theirs, Dakṣa was filled with wrath; / he went into his presence and cursed the lord of the night: 27

"Since you, sinner, did not obey my word endowed with righteousness, / therefore a dreadful consumptive disease shall devour you." 28

Having spoken thus, Dakṣa departed; and the moon too, O best of brahmins, / seized that very moment by consumption, waned day by day. 29

Then, having become emaciated, abandoning Rohiṇī / and unable to indulge in pleasure, he wandered over the earth, 30

inquiring of physicians for the cure of the consumptive disease, / trying various medicines, with his senses controlled. 31

Even so, the lord of the night was not at all released from consumption; / due to Dakṣa's terrible curse, he waned day by day. 32

Then, filled with dispassion and devoted to pilgrimage to sacred fords, / he abandoned the best of remedies and became imbued with faith. 33

Now, wandering among sacred fords and temples, / O best of brahmins, he reached the excellent sacred field of Prabhāsa. 34

Having bathed there and become pure, having gazed upon Prabhāsa, as the lord of the night / was about to set out elsewhere, standing right before him 35

he saw a sage named Romaka, of strict vows, / endowed with the power of austerity, compassionate to all living beings. 36

Having seen him and bowed down deeply, afflicted with the consumptive disease, / the moon, out of despondency, respectfully said, O best of brahmins: 37

"I am severely wasted, O best of brahmins, by the power of the consumptive disease; / therefore, bring about a cure; I have come to you for refuge. 38

I consulted physicians and took the remedies prescribed by them / in many ways, O fortunate one, yet I waste away day by day. 39

If you do not impart to me some instruction / for the destruction of the disease, then because of it I shall cast off my body today." 40

Romaka said: / "The curse even of another cannot be undone, O lord of night; / what then of that Dakṣa of boundless splendor? 41

Therefore, I give you well-considered instruction in this matter, / by which the complete destruction of your consumptive disease will undoubtedly take place. 42

There is nothing that cannot be granted in this world by the God of gods, the trident-bearer, / when he is fully pleased; therefore, worship him according to his word. 43

Truly, his dwelling is always on earth in the sixty-eight sacred fords; / having installed his liṅga in them for the destruction of that [disease], O lord of night, 44

worship him there constantly with a mind purified by faith; / without doubt, you will attain the total destruction of your consumptive disease." 45

Sūta said: / Hearing those words of his, the lord of the night was overjoyed; / having installed divine liṅgas of the trident-bearer marked with his own name / in that sacred field of Prabhāsa, he worshipped them with devotion. 46

Then Mahādeva, being pleased, appeared before him / and said: "I am the granter of boons; ask whatever you desire." 47

The Moon said: / "I am exceedingly wasted by consumption, O Lord of gods, and have come to your feet; / therefore, rescue me; I ask for nothing else." 48

Hearing those words of his, the blessed Lord whose emblem is the bull / summoned Dakṣa right there and then respectfully said: 49

"This Moon, your son-in-law, was cursed by you; that was not well done. / Therefore, bestow favor upon him at my word." 50

Dakṣa said: / "Though addressed by me in accordance with righteousness, this foolish one / did not carry it out; having promised in front of me 'I shall do it,' he proved false to his word. 51

Therefore, he was cursed out of anger for the sake of my daughters, O Lord whose emblem is the bull; / even what is uttered by me in jest does not turn out otherwise." 52

The God of gods said: / "From this day forward, this maker of night will always regard / all those daughters equally, in accordance with my word, without doubt. 53

Therefore, let him wane for one fortnight and wax for one fortnight, / so that your word may remain true, joined with my favor." 54

Then Dakṣa said 'So be it' and went to his own abode; / and Lord Śaṃkara spoke again to the hare-marked moon: 55

"Ask yet another desired wish from me, O hare-marked one, / so that I may grant all, even if it be very difficult to attain." 56

The Moon said: / "If you are pleased, O Lord of gods, if a boon is to be given to me, / then in all the liṅgas installed by me, your presence / must always be maintained, out of desire for the welfare of the worlds." 57

The God said: / "In the sixty-eight liṅgas installed by you, O powerful one, / I will make my presence on Mondays according to your word." 58

Having spoken thus, that Lord of gods disappeared from there; / and the moon, filled with joy, then looked upon them equally— 59

the daughters of Dakṣa, O best of brahmins, remembering the words of Śaṃkara; / then, immediately after that, they became filled with joy. 60

Thus the Someśvara liṅgas came into being there, O best of brahmins, / in the sixty-eight sacred fords, and in others thereafter. 61

Thus ends the sixty-third chapter, entitled 'Description of the Origin and Māhātmya of Somanātha,' in the Māhātmya of the Sacred Field of Śrī Hāṭakeśvara, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part] of the eighty-one-thousand-verse collection of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa. 63.