Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 74
भगवन् ब्राह्मणोऽस्मीति जात्या चैव न कर्मणा । न कस्यचिन्मया दत्तं कदाचिन्नैव भोजनम् । केवलं देवविप्राणां वंचयित्वा धनं हृतम् । व्यसनेनाभिभूतेन द्यूतवेश्योद्भवेन च
bhagavan brāhmaṇo'smīti jātyā caiva na karmaṇā | na kasyacinmayā dattaṃ kadācinnaiva bhojanam | kevalaṃ devaviprāṇāṃ vaṃcayitvā dhanaṃ hṛtam | vyasanenābhibhūtena dyūtaveśyodbhavena ca
“Wahai Bhagavan, aku disebut brāhmaṇa hanya karena kelahiran, bukan karena perbuatan. Tak pernah sekalipun aku memberi makanan sebagai dāna. Bahkan para dewa dan brāhmaṇa pun telah kutipu untuk merampas harta—aku dikuasai kecanduan judi dan noda yang lahir dari pergaulan dengan pelacur.”
Penitent devotee/confessor (name not given in this excerpt)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Durvāsā / Hara (addressed as Bhagavan)
Scene: A remorseful man addresses the Lord/sage: he admits being brāhmaṇa only by birth, never giving food, and having stolen wealth by deception, driven by gambling and courtesan-company; his posture is bowed, hands folded, face strained with shame and hope.
FAQs
Varṇa by birth is hollow without dharmic conduct; confession and repentance are the doorway to transformation.
The confession occurs within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya narrative context; this verse does not specify the tīrtha by name.
It implicitly highlights the neglected duty of dāna/annadāna (giving food), setting up a prāyaścitta-oriented reform.