Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 19
वसिष्ठ उवाच । अनृतं नोक्तपूर्वं मे स्वैरेष्वपि हि जिह्वया । तस्मान्नास्ति मखः कश्चित्सत्यं त्वं यष्टुमिच्छसि
vasiṣṭha uvāca | anṛtaṃ noktapūrvaṃ me svaireṣvapi hi jihvayā | tasmānnāsti makhaḥ kaścitsatyaṃ tvaṃ yaṣṭumicchasi
قال فاسيشتها: ما نطقت لساني قطّ بكذب من قبل، حتى في أوقات السعة والاختيار. لذلك فلا توجد أضحية من النوع الذي تطلبه؛ إنما تريد أن تقيم طقسًا يتجه إلى ما لا يُثبت أنه لائق وصحيح.
Vasiṣṭha
Listener: Triśaṅku
Scene: Vasiṣṭha, serene and austere, addresses King Triśaṅku in a royal-sacrificial hall; sages sit in rows, fire-altars present but unlit, emphasizing refusal grounded in truth.
FAQs
Truthfulness (satya) is foundational to dharma; a rite that conflicts with truth and propriety is rejected even by a powerful sage.
No tīrtha is named in this verse; it is ethical instruction within a Māhātmya narrative frame.
It negates the possibility of a certain ‘makha’ (sacrifice) being performable under the demanded conditions.