Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 37
यदा कश्चिज्जनं कश्चिद्राक्षसो भक्षयिष्यति । आज्ञाभंगो ध्रुवं भावी मम भक्तिरतस्य च
yadā kaścijjanaṃ kaścidrākṣaso bhakṣayiṣyati | ājñābhaṃgo dhruvaṃ bhāvī mama bhaktiratasya ca
إن حدث في أي وقت أن راكشاسا ما افترس إنسانًا ما، فإن خرق أمري سيقع لا محالة—even لمن كان مواظبًا على البهاكتي لي.
Unspecified in excerpt (a subordinate/guardian figure may be speaking to a superior ‘mahārāja’ in context)
Tirtha: Setu–Rāmeśvara pilgrimage protection mandate
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mahārāja (royal addressee)
Scene: Vibhīṣaṇa declares that if any rākṣasa devours a person, it would be a definite breach of his command—even by one claiming devotion—underscoring strict guardianship.
FAQs
Devotion must be aligned with obedience to righteous command; harm to pilgrims becomes a dharmic fault and a violation of sacred duty.
Setu-madhya and the Rāmeśvara-related sacred geography within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s tīrtha narrative.
None; the verse discusses the ethical consequence of allowing violence against visitors.