Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 28
वक्तुं तद्विषये यच्च प्रोच्यते कामपीडितैः । अधोमुखाऽलिखद्भूमिमंगुष्ठेन स्थिता चिरम्
vaktuṃ tadviṣaye yacca procyate kāmapīḍitaiḥ | adhomukhā'likhadbhūmimaṃguṣṭhena sthitā ciram
Und was immer von den vom Begehren Gepeinigten darüber gesagt wird—sie senkte das Gesicht, stand lange da und zeichnete mit dem Daumen in den Staub.
Narrator (within Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya frame; exact speaker not in snippet)
Scene: A group speaks suggestively; the woman stands apart, face lowered, silently tracing lines on the earth with her thumb—time stretching in stillness.
FAQs
Unchecked desire leads to agitation and shame; dharma begins with inner restraint and humility.
The broader passage belongs to a tīrtha-māhātmya connected with Candrakūpikā and Kāmeśvara, though this verse itself is narrative description.
None in this verse; it sets the emotional and ethical tone for the tīrtha narrative.