Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21
युवां निरागसावद्य केन पापेन सायकैः । निहतौ वै तपोनिष्ठौ मत्प्राणौ मद्गुरू वने
yuvāṃ nirāgasāvadya kena pāpena sāyakaiḥ | nihatau vai taponiṣṭhau matprāṇau madgurū vane
„Ihr beide wart schuldlos und ohne Makel—durch welche Sünde wurdet ihr von Pfeilen erschlagen? Dem Tapas, der Askese, ergeben, wart ihr mein Lebensatem, meine Lehrer—dort im Wald.“
The son of the slain ascetic couple
Listener: viprāḥ (brāhmaṇas)
Scene: A grieving son stands over the bodies of two tapasvins (father and mother) pierced by arrows; the forest-āśrama is quiet, with a cave nearby; the unseen king’s presence is implied by bow and arrows; the son’s lament is accusatory yet devotional.
FAQs
To injure the blameless—especially tapasvins and gurus—is a severe adharma that provokes deep moral reckoning and the need for atonement.
The story sits within Setukhaṇḍa’s pilgrimage frame (Setu/Rāmeśvaram), though the verse itself is a lament in a forest setting.
None explicitly; the verse prepares the ground for later prāyaścitta (expiation) themes typical in Purāṇic narratives.