Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10
श्रीभगवानुवाच । न तस्य सन्मुनेर्वाक्यं शक्यते कर्तुमन्यथा । तस्माच्छूद्रोऽपि भूत्वा त्वं न संतानमवाप्स्यसि
śrībhagavānuvāca | na tasya sanmunervākyaṃ śakyate kartumanyathā | tasmācchūdro'pi bhūtvā tvaṃ na saṃtānamavāpsyasi
Le Seigneur Bienheureux dit : « La parole de ce saint muni ne peut être autrement. Ainsi, même devenu Śūdra, tu n’obtiendras pas de descendance. »
Śrī Bhagavān (contextual: the Lord speaking within the Dharmarājeśvara origin narrative)
Listener: the petitioner addressed as Dharmarāja in nearby verses (contextual)
Scene: The Lord speaks with calm authority, declaring that a sage’s word cannot be altered; the petitioner listens, struck by the pronouncement of childlessness despite a changed birth-status.
FAQs
A righteous sage’s utterance (ṛṣi-vākya) is treated as inviolable; dharma emphasizes accountability and the moral weight of words and actions.
This verse sits within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya section of Nāgara Khaṇḍa, framing the sanctity of the region through the Dharmarājeśvara narrative.
No explicit rite is prescribed in this verse; it focuses on the consequence of a sage’s pronouncement within a tīrtha-māhātmya narrative.