Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 20
न मे स्याद्वचनं मिथ्या कदाचिदपि सुभ्रुवः । उपायं वः प्रवक्ष्यामि शृणुध्वं श्रद्धया सह
na me syādvacanaṃ mithyā kadācidapi subhruvaḥ | upāyaṃ vaḥ pravakṣyāmi śṛṇudhvaṃ śraddhayā saha
«Ma parole ne saurait jamais être mensonge, ô vous aux beaux sourcils. Pourtant, je vous dirai un moyen : écoutez avec foi.»
Vasiṣṭha
Tirtha: Setutīrtha (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: sages (frame)
Scene: The sage reassures the women: his word is never false; he is about to reveal a practical means. The women lean in attentively, hands folded; the atmosphere shifts from lament to hopeful instruction.
FAQs
Satya (truthfulness) is inviolable for a sage, yet compassion finds an upāya—an appropriate remedy within dharma.
The Setu-kṣetra narrative context continues; this verse introduces a dharmic ‘means’ rather than praising a specific shrine by name.
Not yet; it promises an upāya to be explained, and asks the listeners to receive it with śraddhā.