Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 57
हा नंदभद्र यद्येवं तवाप्येवंविधं फलम् । एतेन मन्ये मनसि धर्मोप्येष वृथैव यत्
hā naṃdabhadra yadyevaṃ tavāpyevaṃvidhaṃ phalam | etena manye manasi dharmopyeṣa vṛthaiva yat
“हाय नन्दभद्र! यदि तुम्हें भी ऐसा ही फल मिलता है, तो इससे मैं मन में यही मानता हूँ कि यह धर्म भी व्यर्थ ही है।”
A skeptical/undisciplined interlocutor (avrata; likened to Dadhikarṇa) addressing Nandabhadra
Listener: Nandabhadra (addressed)
Scene: The tempter speaks forcefully to Nandabhadra, gesturing as if proving a point; Nandabhadra listens in grief, the air charged with moral combat—faith versus cynicism.
FAQs
The verse presents a temptation: judging dharma by immediate outcomes; the Purāṇic framework later refutes this short-sighted conclusion.
No tīrtha is named; it is a moral-philosophical provocation within the narrative.
None; it is argumentative speech aiming to dislodge faith in dharma.