Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 37
न परत्र भयादेता मर्यादां विदधुः स्त्रियः । मुक्त्वा भूपभयं चैकमथवा गुरुजं भयम्
na paratra bhayādetā maryādāṃ vidadhuḥ striyaḥ | muktvā bhūpabhayaṃ caikamathavā gurujaṃ bhayam
لا تضعُ هؤلاءِ النساءُ حدودَ السلوكِ خوفًا من الدارِ الآخرة؛ وإنما—ما عدا خوفًا واحدًا هو عقوبةُ الملك—أو لعلَّه خوفٌ ناشئٌ من الشيوخِ والمعلّمين—عندئذٍ يضعنَ تلك القيود.
Narrative voice (contextually within Sūta’s narration; explicit speaker not marked in this verse)
Listener: Śaunaka and Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame)
Scene: A court-and-āśrama contrast: on one side a king with scepter (daṇḍa) symbolizing punishment; on the other a guru/elder in an āśrama setting; between them a woman at a threshold (maryādā) indicating boundaries of conduct—illustrating external vs internal restraint.
FAQs
Speech that generalizes or disparages others becomes a cause for moral downfall; dharma is upheld by restraint and right view.
This verse sits inside the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative; the immediate verse emphasizes ethical critique rather than naming a specific tīrtha.
No explicit rite (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse.