Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 71
भरद्वाज उवाच । योधिगम्य गुरोः शास्त्रं निष्क्रयं न प्रयच्छति । तस्यैनसा स युक्तोस्तु बिसस्तैन्यं करोति यः
bharadvāja uvāca | yodhigamya guroḥ śāstraṃ niṣkrayaṃ na prayacchati | tasyainasā sa yuktostu bisastainyaṃ karoti yaḥ
Bharadvāja sprach: „Wer Lotusstängel stiehlt, der sei an die Sünde dessen gebunden, der, nachdem er vom Guru die heilige Lehre empfangen hat, die gebührende Gabe (dakṣiṇā) nicht darbringt.“
Bharadvāja
Type: kshetra
Scene: Bharadvāja instructs a student; the student departs empty-handed; a karmic ‘bond’ motif (subtle chain/rope) overlays the thief of lotus-stalks, linking theft to unpaid dakṣiṇā.
FAQs
Dharma includes honoring obligations—especially to one’s guru; theft is equated with the grave fault of withholding rightful dues.
The tīrtha is part of Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya, but is not named in this verse.
Offer niṣkraya/dakṣiṇā to the guru after receiving instruction; do not withhold what is due.