Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 74
भगवन् ब्राह्मणोऽस्मीति जात्या चैव न कर्मणा । न कस्यचिन्मया दत्तं कदाचिन्नैव भोजनम् । केवलं देवविप्राणां वंचयित्वा धनं हृतम् । व्यसनेनाभिभूतेन द्यूतवेश्योद्भवेन च
bhagavan brāhmaṇo'smīti jātyā caiva na karmaṇā | na kasyacinmayā dattaṃ kadācinnaiva bhojanam | kevalaṃ devaviprāṇāṃ vaṃcayitvā dhanaṃ hṛtam | vyasanenābhibhūtena dyūtaveśyodbhavena ca
Ô Seigneur Bienheureux, je ne suis dit brāhmane que par la naissance, non par la conduite. Jamais je n’ai donné de nourriture à quiconque. Au contraire, j’ai trompé jusqu’aux dieux et aux brāhmanes pour leur ravir des richesses, vaincu par des vices nés du jeu et de la fréquentation des courtisanes.
Penitent devotee/confessor (name not given in this excerpt)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Durvāsā / Hara (addressed as Bhagavan)
Scene: A remorseful man addresses the Lord/sage: he admits being brāhmaṇa only by birth, never giving food, and having stolen wealth by deception, driven by gambling and courtesan-company; his posture is bowed, hands folded, face strained with shame and hope.
FAQs
Varṇa by birth is hollow without dharmic conduct; confession and repentance are the doorway to transformation.
The confession occurs within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya narrative context; this verse does not specify the tīrtha by name.
It implicitly highlights the neglected duty of dāna/annadāna (giving food), setting up a prāyaścitta-oriented reform.