Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 64
अन्येनापि च केनापि भविष्यत्यथवा परः । तस्मात्प्रदहतु क्षिप्रं समिद्धोऽयं हुताशनः
anyenāpi ca kenāpi bhaviṣyatyathavā paraḥ | tasmātpradahatu kṣipraṃ samiddho'yaṃ hutāśanaḥ
« Si cela doit advenir par quelqu’un d’autre ou par quelque autre moyen, qu’il en soit ainsi. Aussi, que ce feu sacré, pleinement attisé, consume promptement (ce corps). »
The sādhvī (a chaste, virtuous woman; later addressed as Bhaṭṭikā)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A blazing, well-fed sacred fire stands ready; the woman declares that if impurity is destined by any means, let the fire quickly consume her body—an intense moment of vow and surrender.
FAQs
Steadfast resolve in dharma: inner purity and truthfulness are upheld even in crisis, without fear or hesitation.
A tīrtha that will become famous by the sādhvī’s name (explicitly stated later in verses 71–72), arising at the spot connected with her ordeal.
Invocation of the sacred fire (hutāśana) as a decisive act; the narrative context is an ordeal-like moment rather than a standard daily rite.