Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 49
ऋषय ऊचुः । केन क्षुधाभितप्तानामस्माकं पापकर्मणा । बिसानि तानि सर्वाणि हृतानि च मुनीश्वराः
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | kena kṣudhābhitaptānāmasmākaṃ pāpakarmaṇā | bisāni tāni sarvāṇi hṛtāni ca munīśvarāḥ
聖仙たちは言った。「誰が—飢えに苦しむ我らに対して、いかなる罪業によって—あの蓮の茎をすべて奪い去ったのか。ああ、牟尼の中の主たちよ。」
Ṛṣis
Tirtha: Prabhāsa (saras-bank episode)
Type: kund
Scene: A spokesman among the sages addresses the group, palms open in questioning; other rishis look troubled; the empty bank spot is visible; their lean bodies and simple attire emphasize hunger and austerity.
FAQs
Stealing—especially from ascetics and the needy—is pāpa; sacred settings intensify the demand for ethical clarity.
The narrative remains within Prabhāsa-kṣetra, at a lake-tīrtha where the sages had bathed.
None directly; the verse frames an ethical breach (steya) that will lead to vows or imprecations in subsequent lines.