ममाक्षिपसि विप्रोच्चैः किं मया चौर्य कर्मणा । लब्धा मुद्रा त्वदीयेन पुत्रेणैषा ममार्पिता
mamākṣipasi viproccaiḥ kiṃ mayā caurya karmaṇā | labdhā mudrā tvadīyena putreṇaiṣā mamārpitā
“Why do you accuse me so loudly, O brāhmaṇa? What have I to do with theft? This seal-ring I obtained from your own son—he himself gave it to me.”
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Audience within Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame (not specified)
Scene: The gambler raises his hands in protest before the brāhmaṇa, pointing outward as if to say ‘your son gave it’; the ring is visible, and the brāhmaṇa’s face shows shock and dawning realization.
Adharma often hides behind excuses; yet the deeper warning is that a family’s negligence can enable wrongdoing.
Kāśī is the overarching sacred context (Kāśīkhaṇḍa), though the verse itself is part of a moral narrative.
None; it records a defensive claim regarding the origin of the ring.