Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 69
तथैवापिबतः पापं जायते बहुवर्षिकम् । क्षुधातृषाविरामस्ते पुण्यं च पिबतः स्तनम्
tathaivāpibataḥ pāpaṃ jāyate bahuvarṣikam | kṣudhātṛṣāvirāmaste puṇyaṃ ca pibataḥ stanam
De même, si tu ne bois pas, un péché naît et dure de longues années. En buvant au sein, ta faim et ta soif s’apaisent, et le mérite (puṇya) s’accroît en toi.
Unspecified female speaker (continuing persuasion within the narrative)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) context
Type: river
Listener: Brāhmaṇa (first-person narrator in adjacent verses)
Scene: The mother explains that refusing to drink causes long-lasting sin, while drinking relieves hunger and thirst and grants merit; the brāhmaṇa appears weakened, the mother resolute.
FAQs
Dharma is measured by its life-sustaining outcome; refusing aid can also generate pāpa, while compassionate action yields puṇya.
No tīrtha is named directly; the instruction occurs within Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred narrative setting.
No formal ritual; the verse frames compassionate assistance as a meritorious act.