Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15
भक्षयंति यतः सर्पा अपराधं विना प्रजाः । वारिता अपि ते तस्मात्तान्निगृह्णामि सांप्रतम्
bhakṣayaṃti yataḥ sarpā aparādhaṃ vinā prajāḥ | vāritā api te tasmāttānnigṛhṇāmi sāṃpratam
„Weil die Schlangen Lebewesen auch ohne Vergehen verschlingen und selbst bei Zurückhaltung nicht ablassen, darum schreite ich jetzt dazu, sie zu bestrafen und zu zügeln.“
Brahmā (implied by context; explicit in later verses)
Scene: Brahmā declares a decree against the serpents’ unprovoked devouring; devas look grave, nāga emissaries appear uneasy at the prospect of punishment.
FAQs
Dharma protects the innocent: violence without cause invites divine restraint and correction.
This verse functions as narrative groundwork within the Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrtha-māhātmya; no single tīrtha is named in this line.
None; the verse centers on ethical governance and restraint rather than a rite.