Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 19
चिंतयानो दिवानक्तं ब्राह्मणान्प्रति तत्सदा । कथं तेषां द्विजेंद्राणामुपकारो भविष्यति । मदीयो मम यैर्दत्तं गात्रमेतत्पुनर्नवम्
ciṃtayāno divānaktaṃ brāhmaṇānprati tatsadā | kathaṃ teṣāṃ dvijeṃdrāṇāmupakāro bhaviṣyati | madīyo mama yairdattaṃ gātrametatpunarnavam
Tag und Nacht dachte er unablässig an jene Brāhmaṇas: „Wie kann ich jenen erhabenen Dvijas dienen, durch die mir dieser Leib von neuem, gleichsam erneuert, geschenkt wurde?“
Narrator (third-person, reporting the king’s thoughts)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A devotee sits wakeful through day and night, hands folded, contemplating how to serve venerable brāhmaṇas who restored his life; the sages appear serene, radiant with tapas.
FAQs
One should actively seek ways to repay benefactors—gratitude must become concrete service (seva/upakāra).
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it continues the ethical narrative within the tīrtha-mahātmya framework.
No direct ritual is stated; the emphasis is on brāhmaṇa-upakāra (service/benefit rendered to brāhmaṇas), which commonly includes dāna and honoring.