Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 31
न तं स्वयं महादेवः स्वशिष्यं सूदयिष्यति । विषवृक्षमपि स्थाप्य कश्छिनत्ति पुनः स्वयम्
na taṃ svayaṃ mahādevaḥ svaśiṣyaṃ sūdayiṣyati | viṣavṛkṣamapi sthāpya kaśchinatti punaḥ svayam
„Mahādeva wird ihn nicht selbst töten — es ist sein eigener Schüler. Wer würde, nachdem er selbst einen giftigen Baum gepflanzt hat, ihn danach mit eigener Hand wieder fällen?“
Narrator (contextual continuation; likely Bṛhaspati’s explanatory reasoning)
Scene: Śiva (or a narrator) explains with a vivid metaphor: a poisonous tree once planted cannot be cut by the planter himself; the devotee/listener absorbs the moral weight; a symbolic poison tree appears in the background.
FAQs
Actions create responsibilities; one does not lightly destroy what one has empowered—hence dharma demands forethought.
No tīrtha is mentioned in this verse; it uses a moral analogy within the larger narrative.
None; the verse is a nyāya (illustrative maxim) supporting an argument.