Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1
सूत उवाच । एवं संबोधितस्तैस्तु लोकैः पुष्पस्तदा द्विजाः । तानब्रवीत्ततः कुद्धो न करिष्यामि भोजनम्
sūta uvāca | evaṃ saṃbodhitastaistu lokaiḥ puṣpastadā dvijāḥ | tānabravīttataḥ kuddho na kariṣyāmi bhojanam
Sūta dit : Ainsi interpellé par ces gens, Puṣpa le brāhmaṇa leur répondit alors avec colère : «Je ne prendrai pas de nourriture.»
Sūta
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (episode context)
Type: kshetra
Listener: (implied) Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (standard Sūta frame)
Scene: Sūta narrates: the brāhmaṇa Puṣpa, addressed by townspeople offering food, stands firm and angry, refusing to eat; his posture is upright, eyes intense, hand raised in refusal.
FAQs
Dharma is not satisfied by comfort alone; wrongdoing must be addressed through proper remedy and accountability.
The narrative continues within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra / Puṣpāditya Māhātmya frame of Nāgarakhaṇḍa.
Refusal of food functions as a vow-like stance until pratikriyā (remedial action) is undertaken.