Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25
बृहस्पतिरुवाच । ये त्वया मदमत्तेन वालखिल्या महर्षयः । उल्लंघिताः स्थिता मार्गे गोष्पदं तर्त्तुमिच्छवः
bṛhaspatiruvāca | ye tvayā madamattena vālakhilyā maharṣayaḥ | ullaṃghitāḥ sthitā mārge goṣpadaṃ tarttumicchavaḥ
Dijo Bṛhaspati: «Aquellos grandes sabios Vālakhilya, a quienes tú—embriagado de orgullo—ofendiste al saltar por encima de ellos cuando estaban en el camino, deseando cruzar siquiera un charco del tamaño de una huella de pezuña de vaca…»
Bṛhaspati
Listener: Indra (Śakra, Śacīpati)
Scene: A narrow forest-path: tiny, radiant Vālakhilya sages stand or sit in tapas; Indra, majestic yet arrogant, strides/leaps over them; the sages’ stillness contrasts with Indra’s motion, foreshadowing karmic reversal.
FAQs
Pride toward sages is a grave aparādha; disrespecting the spiritually great invites karmic reversal even for the most powerful.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it explains the moral cause behind the ominous signs within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative.
None directly; the implied prescription is ethical—honor ṛṣis and avoid arrogance, which is foundational to all tīrtha rites and Purāṇic dharma.