Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21
अथ तं बटवः प्रोचुर्वयस्यास्तस्य ये स्थिताः । हास्यं कृत्वा प्रकामाश्च वेश्या या गुरुसंनिधौ
atha taṃ baṭavaḥ procurvayasyāstasya ye sthitāḥ | hāsyaṃ kṛtvā prakāmāśca veśyā yā gurusaṃnidhau
ثم إن الغلمانَ—رفاقَه الذين كانوا قائمين قريبًا—خاطبوه؛ وبعد أن أكثروا من السخرية واللعب به، أخذوا يذكرون تلك البغيَّ التي كانت بقرب مقام المعلّم.
Narrator (reporting the companions’ intervention)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A cluster of boys laugh and tease their companion near the teacher’s dwelling, gesturing toward a courtesan nearby, while the troubled youth looks distressed.
FAQs
In moments of moral crisis, careless companions may offer harmful counsel; discernment is required to protect dharma.
Not named in this verse; it is part of a larger tīrtha-centered chapter.
None; the verse introduces the companions’ speech that follows.