Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17
ततस्तस्यैव चान्येषां क्षत्रियाणां दुरात्मनाम् । रुधिरैः पूरयित्वेमां गर्तां पितृजलोचिताम् । तर्पयिष्यामि रक्तेन पितरं नाहमंभसा
tatastasyaiva cānyeṣāṃ kṣatriyāṇāṃ durātmanām | rudhiraiḥ pūrayitvemāṃ gartāṃ pitṛjalocitām | tarpayiṣyāmi raktena pitaraṃ nāhamaṃbhasā
«Ainsi, remplissant cette fosse—digne de l’offrande d’eau aux Ancêtres—du sang de celui-là même et d’autres kṣatriyas au cœur mauvais, je satisferai mon père par le sang, non par l’eau».
Rāma (Jamadagnija/Paraśurāma)
Type: kund
Listener: Ascetics/brāhmaṇas present in the story-world; broader purāṇic audience
Scene: A grim ritual inversion: a pit/cleft designated for ancestral offerings is being filled with blood; the vow-taker stands fierce, while sages recoil in silent horror; the pit is central, symbolically marked as ‘pitṛ-jala-ucitā’.
FAQs
It dramatizes the tension between ritual norms (water tarpaṇa) and a fierce vow born of perceived injustice—showing how Purāṇic narratives explore dharma under extreme emotion.
The verse references a “pit” suited for pitṛ-water rites, within a Tīrthamāhātmya chapter; the specific named tīrtha is not given in this line.
Tarpaṇa is referenced explicitly (pitṛ-jala-ucita gartā), but the speaker vows an abnormal substitution—blood instead of water—highlighting the narrative’s severity.