Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21
विश्वामित्र उवाच । वसिष्ठस्य भवान्याज्यस्तत्पुत्राणां विशेषतः । तत्कस्मादीदृशे पापे तैस्त्वमद्य नियोजितः
viśvāmitra uvāca | vasiṣṭhasya bhavānyājyastatputrāṇāṃ viśeṣataḥ | tatkasmādīdṛśe pāpe taistvamadya niyojitaḥ
Viśvāmitra said: “You are worthy of honor from Vasiṣṭha, and especially from his sons. Why then have they today subjected you to such a sinful condition?”
Viśvāmitra
Scene: Viśvāmitra, composed yet probing, addresses the afflicted king; the scene emphasizes the sage’s discerning gaze and the ethical gravity of the question.
FAQs
Dharma demands inquiry into cause (hetu) and justice; punishment should be understood in relation to conduct.
Within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya flow, the sanctity of the sages’ sphere is implicit; this line is primarily dialogic.
None; it sets up ethical investigation rather than prescribing a rite.