Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 87
पृष्टश्च किमिदं कर्म तवांत्यजजनोचितम् । एषा वेदात्मिका वाणी स्पष्टाक्षरकलस्वना । तत्किं शापपरिभ्रष्टस्त्वं कश्चिद्ब्राह्मणोत्तमः
pṛṣṭaśca kimidaṃ karma tavāṃtyajajanocitam | eṣā vedātmikā vāṇī spaṣṭākṣarakalasvanā | tatkiṃ śāpaparibhraṣṭastvaṃ kaścidbrāhmaṇottamaḥ
And he was asked: “Why do you perform this work suited to an antyaja? Yet your speech is Vedic in nature, with clear syllables and a melodious tone. Are you, then, some excellent brāhmaṇa who has fallen from his state due to a curse?”
Brāhmaṇas led by Devaśarmā (interrogating the beaten man)
Type: kshetra
Scene: At a riverside or shrine precinct, a refined-speaking figure engaged in menial/antyaja-coded labor is questioned by a brāhmaṇa or pilgrim; the contrast between humble action and luminous, Vedic speech is central.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma urges discernment: sacred qualities (Vedic speech, saṃskāra) may exist beneath surprising circumstances, and suffering may arise from past causes such as śāpa.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a turning point in the tīrtha-māhātmya story where hidden identity is recognized.
No explicit prescription; the verse highlights vedātmikā vāṇī (Vedic recitation/intonation) and upholds Vedic discipline as a sign of dharmic identity.
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