Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 45
तस्मान्नार्हसि शप्तुं त्वं प्रतिशापेन सन्मुनिम् । निषिद्धः स तथा भूपस्ततस्तत्सलिलं करात् । पादयोः कृत्स्नमुपरि प्रमुमोच ततः परम्
tasmānnārhasi śaptuṃ tvaṃ pratiśāpena sanmunim | niṣiddhaḥ sa tathā bhūpastatastatsalilaṃ karāt | pādayoḥ kṛtsnamupari pramumoca tataḥ param
“Therefore you should not curse the good sage with a counter-curse.” Thus restrained, the king released the water from his hand, pouring it wholly upon his own feet.
Nārada
Scene: The king, halted mid-ritual of cursing, turns the water away from the intended target and pours it upon his own feet; the sage stands nearby, tension easing but fate already set in motion.
FAQs
Self-restraint and reverence toward sages avert greater sin; redirected anger often rebounds upon oneself.
Not specified in this verse; the emphasis is on dharmic conduct within the chapter’s sacred narrative.
It implicitly warns against pratiśāpa (counter-cursing a sage) and depicts the ritual water used in acts of śāpa.
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