Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 161
अभद्रेण सुभद्रेण श्वशुरेण दुरात्मना । एतज्जानाम्यहं विप्रा गोत्रं वासिष्ठमेव वा
abhadreṇa subhadreṇa śvaśureṇa durātmanā | etajjānāmyahaṃ viprā gotraṃ vāsiṣṭhameva vā
Ô Brāhmaṇas, je ne sais que ceci—rapporté par mon beau-père au cœur mauvais, Abhadra, fils de Subhadra—que mon gotra est Vāsiṣṭha.
The pilgrim/unknown man
Type: kshetra
Scene: The speaker, anxious yet honest, tells the brāhmaṇas that he only knows his gotra as Vāsiṣṭha, information received from a cruel father-in-law; the brāhmaṇas listen gravely.
FAQs
When lineage knowledge is fragmented or unreliable, dharma still seeks a compassionate, procedure-based path to purification.
The verse is part of a tīrtha-context dialogue but does not itself name the tīrtha; it focuses on identity needed for śuddhi.
It supplies partial gotra information (Vāsiṣṭha) relevant to determining proper śuddhi rites.