Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26
सोऽब्रवीच्छीतलो वह्निर्यदि स्यादुष्णगुः शशी । तन्मे स्यादन्यथा वाक्यं व्याहृतं प्रपितामह
so'bravīcchītalo vahniryadi syāduṣṇaguḥ śaśī | tanme syādanyathā vākyaṃ vyāhṛtaṃ prapitāmaha
Il répondit : «Ce n’est que si le feu devenait frais et si la lune donnait la chaleur que ma parole proférée pourrait être autrement, ô Vénérable Bisaïeul.»
Rākṣasa (unnamed; addressed Brahmā as Prapitāmaha)
Listener: Brahmā (Prapitāmaha)
Scene: A being addresses Brahmā (‘Prapitāmaha’) with fearless certainty; behind them, symbolic contrasts—cool flames and a radiant moon—appear as impossible omens underscoring the claim.
FAQs
Truthful speech is portrayed as firm as cosmic order—so steady that it would change only if nature itself reversed.
The immediate verse is part of the Nāgara-khaṇḍa’s local tīrtha narrative; the line itself emphasizes ethical certainty rather than naming a distinct bathing-place.
No direct ritual is prescribed here; it is an assertion about the reliability of one’s spoken word.