Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 62
यदि त्वं न पिबेः स्तन्यं पयो बालो मरिष्यति । श्रूयते त्रिषु लोकेषु वेदेषु च स्मृतिष्वपि । मुच्यते सर्वपापेभ्यो भ्रूणहत्या न मुञ्चति
yadi tvaṃ na pibeḥ stanyaṃ payo bālo mariṣyati | śrūyate triṣu lokeṣu vedeṣu ca smṛtiṣvapi | mucyate sarvapāpebhyo bhrūṇahatyā na muñcati
Jika engkau tidak meminum air susu ini, wahai anak, sang bayi akan mati. Tersiar dalam tiga dunia—dalam Veda dan Smṛti juga—bahwa seseorang dapat dilepaskan dari segala dosa, namun dosa membunuh janin (bhrūṇa-hatyā) tidak mudah terhapus.
The woman (nārī) speaking
Listener: First-person male speaker (earlier verse)
Scene: The mother, distressed, points to the weakening child and cites scriptural authority; the man listens, torn between propriety and the imperative to save life; the atmosphere is heavy with moral urgency.
FAQs
Protecting vulnerable life is paramount; certain harms—especially against unborn/infant life—are treated as exceptionally grave in dharma literature.
No specific tīrtha is named; the verse is a dharma-argument within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative.
No positive rite is prescribed; the verse discusses the doctrine of sin and the difficulty of expiating bhrūṇahatya.