Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 108
यत्पापं भ्रूणहत्यायां मृष्टमांसाशिनां च यत् । तन्मे स्याद्यदि नो हन्मि सर्पं दृष्टिवशं गतम्
yatpāpaṃ bhrūṇahatyāyāṃ mṛṣṭamāṃsāśināṃ ca yat | tanme syādyadi no hanmi sarpaṃ dṛṣṭivaśaṃ gatam
Si je n’abats pas le serpent tombé sous la puissance de mon regard, que le péché de l’infanticide dans le sein et celui de ceux qui mangent une viande impure ou interdite retombent sur moi.
Unspecified (Nāgarakhaṇḍa, Tīrthamāhātmya narrative voice; likely a vow-like utterance within the tīrtha episode)
Scene: A tense moment: a serpent threatens near a family/pilgrim group; the protector intervenes. In the background, symbolic imagery (a withered bud for bhrūṇa-hatyā; a rejected meat platter) conveys the invoked grave sins.
FAQs
It underscores the gravity of life-destroying and purity-violating acts, using them as benchmarks to stress the seriousness of failing one’s immediate duty.
This is part of Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (Adhyāya 29); the specific tīrtha is not named in the provided excerpt.
No direct ritual instruction is present in this verse.