Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 32
कपिलोवाच । वेदाध्ययनसंपन्नं ब्राह्मणं वंचयेत्तु यः । तेन पापेन लिप्यामि यद्यहं नागमे पुनः
kapilovāca | vedādhyayanasaṃpannaṃ brāhmaṇaṃ vaṃcayettu yaḥ | tena pāpena lipyāmi yadyahaṃ nāgame punaḥ
কপিলা বললেন—যে বেদাধ্যয়নে সম্পন্ন ব্রাহ্মণকে প্রতারণা করে, আমি যদি আর ফিরে না আসি তবে সেই পাপে আমি লিপ্ত হই।
Kapilā (Cow)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (implied frame)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Implied interlocutor(s) in the episode (not specified in the verse)
Scene: Kapilā, in a solemn moment, raises a hand in oath, declaring that failure to return should bind her with the sin of deceiving a Veda-accomplished brāhmaṇa; the setting suggests a sacred grove or tīrtha precinct.
FAQs
Truthfulness is made sacred by linking it to grave moral consequence—deceit against the learned is a heavy sin, so one must keep one’s word.
No tīrtha is directly mentioned; the verse emphasizes dharma through oath-taking within the Arbuda narrative.
None; it is an oath formula invoking pāpa as a deterrent against breaking one’s promise.