Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 32
प्रार्थितश्चेन्न दास्यामि व्यर्थो भवतु मेऽध्वरः । अनेन वचसा जाता महती मे शिरो व्यथा । प्रतिज्ञाय कथं यज्ञः संपूर्णोऽयं भविष्यति
prārthitaścenna dāsyāmi vyartho bhavatu me'dhvaraḥ | anena vacasā jātā mahatī me śiro vyathā | pratijñāya kathaṃ yajñaḥ saṃpūrṇo'yaṃ bhaviṣyati
« Si, lorsqu’on me le demande, je ne donne pas, que mon sacrifice devienne vain. Par ces paroles, une grande douleur s’est levée dans ma tête. Ayant fait le vœu, comment ce yajña pourra-t-il s’achever ? »
Unspecified (context: yajamāna/patron troubled by the consequences of breaking a vow)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (Prabhāsa)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis (frame)
Scene: Bali laments: if he fails to give when asked, the sacrifice becomes futile; he feels intense head pain and worries how the pledged yajña can be completed.
FAQs
A broken pledge undermines the spiritual efficacy of yajña; inner anguish follows when dharma (satya and dāna) is compromised.
Vastrāpatha-kṣetra in Prabhāsa, where the narrative frames vow-keeping as essential to sacred rite and merit.
Completion of yajña is tied to honoring requests for dāna; the verse warns against failing to give when asked.