Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21
उत्तंक उवाच । अवश्यं भक्षय त्वं मामेकं शृणु नराधिप । देहि मे कुण्डले तात दत्त्वाऽहं गुरवे पुनः । आगमिष्यामि भक्षस्व मा त्वं कार्यविवर्जितम्
uttaṃka uvāca | avaśyaṃ bhakṣaya tvaṃ māmekaṃ śṛṇu narādhipa | dehi me kuṇḍale tāta dattvā'haṃ gurave punaḥ | āgamiṣyāmi bhakṣasva mā tvaṃ kāryavivarjitam
Uttaṅka sprach: „Du kannst mich gewiss verzehren, o König; doch höre eines. Gib mir jene Ohrringe, ehrwürdiger Herr; nachdem ich sie meinem Guru zurückgegeben habe, werde ich wiederkehren. Dann verschlinge mich — beraube dich nicht der Tat, die du beabsichtigst.“
Uttaṅka
Scene: Uttaṅka, fearless, offers himself to be eaten but requests the earrings first to return them to his guru, promising to come back for the king’s act.
FAQs
Guru-bhakti and commitment to one’s vow stand above even fear of death; dharma is upheld through steadfast truth and duty.
The verse occurs in the Arbuda-khaṇḍa (connected with Arbuda/Aravalli sacred geography), but this line focuses on the ethical narrative rather than a tīrtha-phala.
A dharmic ‘prescription’ is implied: fulfilling the guru’s command (guru-ājñā) and returning what is due; no formal rite is described.