Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21
रत्नावत्युवाच । मनसा चिंत्यते कार्यं सकृत्तातपुरा यतः । वाचया प्रोच्यते पश्चात् कर्मणा क्रियते ततः
ratnāvatyuvāca | manasā ciṃtyate kāryaṃ sakṛttātapurā yataḥ | vācayā procyate paścāt karmaṇā kriyate tataḥ
Ratnāvatī sprach: O Vater, zuerst wird ein Vorhaben einmal im Geist erwogen; danach wird es mit Worten ausgesprochen; und dann wird es durch Tat vollzogen.
Ratnāvatī
Listener: Her father (addressed as 'tāta')
Scene: Ratnāvatī, composed and resolute, explains a threefold sequence—mind conceives, speech declares, action performs—gesturing with three counted fingers while elders listen.
FAQs
Dharma recognizes the moral chain from intention to speech to action; integrity requires alignment of all three.
No tīrtha is named in this verse; it provides philosophical grounding within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative.
None explicitly; it outlines a moral-psychological order (mind → speech → deed) relevant to vows and rites.