Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 37
श्रीराम उवाच । न जाने तावकान्विप्रांश्चतुर्दिक्षु समाश्रितान् । न तेषां वेद्म्यहं संख्यां नामगोत्रे द्विजन्मनाम्
śrīrāma uvāca | na jāne tāvakānviprāṃścaturdikṣu samāśritān | na teṣāṃ vedmyahaṃ saṃkhyāṃ nāmagotre dvijanmanām
ശ്രീരാമൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—നാലുദിക്കുകളിലും ആശ്രയം പ്രാപിച്ചിരിക്കുന്ന നിന്റെ ബ്രാഹ്മണരെ ഞാൻ അറിയുന്നില്ല. അവരുടെ എണ്ണം, ദ്വിജന്മാരുടെ നാമവും ഗോത്രവും എനിക്കറിയില്ല.
Śrī Rāma
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śrī Mātā (the Blessed Mother/Devi) or her speaking presence
Scene: Śrī Rāma, seated in a royal yet austere setting at the edge of a sacred forest, questions the Mother/Devi’s representative about brāhmaṇas dispersed to the four directions; scribes and attendants stand by with palm-leaf records.
FAQs
Dharma begins with proper recognition and honoring of the twice-born through knowing their identity, lineage, and rightful place in sacred society.
The setting is Dharmāraṇya (a sacred forest-region) within the Brāhma Khaṇḍa’s Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa.
No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse prepares for orderly settlement and support of Brāhmaṇas according to name and gotra.