Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 35
न भवद्भ्यस्वहं स्वर्गं प्रयच्छामि कथंचन । दूतोऽवध्यो भवेद्राज्ञामपि वैरे सुदारुणे । एतस्मात्कारणाद्दूत न त्वां प्राणैर्वियोजये
na bhavadbhyasvahaṃ svargaṃ prayacchāmi kathaṃcana | dūto'vadhyo bhavedrājñāmapi vaire sudāruṇe | etasmātkāraṇāddūta na tvāṃ prāṇairviyojaye
“Aku tidak akan menyerahkan surga kepadamu—tidak pernah. Para raja tidak membunuh utusan, bahkan dalam permusuhan yang paling dahsyat. Karena itu, wahai utusan, aku tidak akan merenggut nyawamu.”
Dānava (Bāṣkali/Kaliṅga), replying to the envoy
Scene: A fierce Dānava addresses the envoy: refusal to yield heaven, yet declaring the envoy inviolable; tension between clenched weapons and a raised palm of restraint.
FAQs
Even adversaries are bound by dharma: the inviolability of envoys is upheld as a rule of righteous conduct.
No tīrtha is named; the verse emphasizes rāja-dharma within the Arbuda-khaṇḍa narrative.
None; it is an ethical injunction about conduct in conflict.