Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21
युवां निरागसावद्य केन पापेन सायकैः । निहतौ वै तपोनिष्ठौ मत्प्राणौ मद्गुरू वने
yuvāṃ nirāgasāvadya kena pāpena sāyakaiḥ | nihatau vai taponiṣṭhau matprāṇau madgurū vane
«Vous étiez tous deux sans faute et sans reproche : par quel péché avez-vous été frappés de flèches ? Voués à l’ascèse (tapas), vous étiez mon souffle même, mes maîtres, là dans la forêt.»
The son of the slain ascetic couple
Listener: viprāḥ (brāhmaṇas)
Scene: A grieving son stands over the bodies of two tapasvins (father and mother) pierced by arrows; the forest-āśrama is quiet, with a cave nearby; the unseen king’s presence is implied by bow and arrows; the son’s lament is accusatory yet devotional.
FAQs
To injure the blameless—especially tapasvins and gurus—is a severe adharma that provokes deep moral reckoning and the need for atonement.
The story sits within Setukhaṇḍa’s pilgrimage frame (Setu/Rāmeśvaram), though the verse itself is a lament in a forest setting.
None explicitly; the verse prepares the ground for later prāyaścitta (expiation) themes typical in Purāṇic narratives.