Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 70
श्रीभगवानुवाच । नायुक्तं विहितं विप्र पन्नगैस्तैर्महात्मभिः । निर्दोषश्चापि पुत्रोऽत्र येषां विप्रेण सूदितः
śrībhagavānuvāca | nāyuktaṃ vihitaṃ vipra pannagaistairmahātmabhiḥ | nirdoṣaścāpi putro'tra yeṣāṃ vipreṇa sūditaḥ
Le Seigneur Bienheureux dit : «Ô brāhmaṇa, cette ordonnance établie par ces serpents magnanimes n’est pas juste. Car ici, même un fils sans faute a été tué par la main d’un brāhmaṇa.»
Śrī Bhagavān
Type: kshetra
Listener: vipra (brāhmaṇa)
Scene: The Lord addresses a brāhmaṇa, pointing out the impropriety of a serpent-made ordinance; in the background, a mournful scene suggests a slain innocent son, emphasizing ethical correction.
FAQs
Even seemingly “pious” rules become adharma if they cause harm to the innocent; righteousness must protect the blameless.
The verse sits within Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya setting; the immediate tīrtha context is the Nāga-associated locale developed in this chapter.
No direct rite is prescribed here; it is a moral evaluation preparing for the later introduction of a protective mantra and worship context.