Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 96
नारदेनैवमुक्तस्तु त्वं राजा याज्ञिको ह्यसि । सतामवज्ञया प्राप्तो नहुषो दंदशूकताम्
nāradenaivamuktastu tvaṃ rājā yājñiko hyasi | satāmavajñayā prāpto nahuṣo daṃdaśūkatām
Ainsi parla Nārada : «Ô roi, tu es véritablement un accomplisseur de yajña. Par mépris des justes, Nahuṣa est tombé dans l’état de serpent».
Nārada
Tirtha: Kedāra narrative frame (teaching delivered in svarga)
Type: kshetra
Listener: The enthroned king (contextually the newly elevated ruler in Indra’s seat)
Scene: Nārada, holding vīṇā, addresses the enthroned king with firm compassion; the court listens; a shadowy foreshadowing shows Nahuṣa’s fall into serpent form as a moral exemplum.
FAQs
Yajña-minded leadership must be grounded in reverence for the virtuous; disrespect triggers swift karmic degradation.
The verse is part of Kedāra Khaṇḍa’s sacred discourse (Kedārakṣetra frame), but it chiefly teaches dharma through the Nahuṣa example.
No specific rite is prescribed; “yājñika” indicates a ruler qualified by sacrificial responsibility and dharmic conduct.