Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24
विदूरथ उवाच । कथं ते जायते मुक्तिर्वद मे प्रेत सत्वरम् । करोमि येन तत्कर्म यद्यपि स्यात्सुदुष्करम् ः
vidūratha uvāca | kathaṃ te jāyate muktirvada me preta satvaram | karomi yena tatkarma yadyapi syātsuduṣkaram ḥ
Vidūratha sprach: „Sage mir schnell, o Preta, wie dir Befreiung zuteilwerden kann. Ich werde jene Tat vollbringen, durch die sie geschieht, selbst wenn sie äußerst schwer ist.“
Vidūratha (king)
Type: kshetra
Listener: (Internal dialogue) Vidūratha addressing the preta
Scene: King Vidūratha, armed yet gentle, stands near a cremation-ground edge or lonely ghat at dusk; a preta appears, and the king leans forward in urgent inquiry, promising to do even the hardest act.
FAQs
The ideal ruler responds to unseen suffering with urgency, responsibility, and willingness to undertake difficult dharmic acts.
Not named yet; the king’s question leads into the naming of the specific kṣetra in the next verse.
A general vow of undertaking the required karma; details are requested and provided immediately after.