Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1
सूत उवाच । अथ ते नागराः सर्वे दृष्ट्वा तद्वित्तभाजनम् । न केनापि ग्रहीतव्यं सर्वान्कामान्निरस्य च
sūta uvāca | atha te nāgarāḥ sarve dṛṣṭvā tadvittabhājanam | na kenāpi grahītavyaṃ sarvānkāmānnirasya ca
Sūta sprach: Da beschlossen alle jene Nāgaras, als sie das Gefäß des Reichtums sahen: „Niemand soll es an sich nehmen“, und sie warfen jedes persönliche Begehren von sich und übten Selbstzucht.
Sūta
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (standard frame)
Scene: A group of Nāgara elders and dvija leaders stand near a visible ‘receptacle of wealth’ (vitta-bhājana), hands raised in restraint, collectively deciding not to touch it; the atmosphere is solemn and ethical.
FAQs
Collective dharma is upheld by renouncing greed; sacred wealth connected to rites should not be seized for private desire.
The narrative remains within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya stream of Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya.
An ethical injunction: no one should appropriate the wealth; desires should be set aside in a sacred/ritual context.