Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 35
ब्राह्मण उवाच । अपि ब्रह्मवधं घोरमपि मद्यनिषेवणम् । तपसा नाशयिष्यामि कि पुनः पारदारिकम् । तस्मात्प्रयच्छ मे भार्यामिमां त्वं ध्रुवमन्यथा
brāhmaṇa uvāca | api brahmavadhaṃ ghoramapi madyaniṣevaṇam | tapasā nāśayiṣyāmi ki punaḥ pāradārikam | tasmātprayaccha me bhāryāmimāṃ tvaṃ dhruvamanyathā
The brāhmaṇa said: “Even the dreadful sin of brahmin-slaying, even the drinking of liquor—I shall destroy by austerity (tapas); how much more, then, this matter of another’s wife. Therefore give me this wife of yours; otherwise, destruction is certain.”
Brāhmaṇa
Scene: A brāhmaṇa ascetic with matted hair and staff stands before a troubled king, hand raised in demand; the queen is shown in the background, veiled, embodying the moral crisis; a faint aura of heat (tapas) contrasts with a shadow of desire.
FAQs
It dramatizes how claims of spiritual power can be misused, and how dharma must be weighed carefully when threatened by fear and coercion.
No tīrtha is named in this verse; it is part of an ethical narrative rather than a site-māhātmya passage.
Tapas (austerity) is cited as a means of destroying sin; no specific rite (snāna/dāna/japa) is prescribed here.