Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 34
ब्राह्मण उवाच । भूपाल बहुकालीनोस्म्यहमत्र चिरंतनः । त्वं तु मां नैव जानासि जाने त्वां हि रिपुंजयम्
brāhmaṇa uvāca | bhūpāla bahukālīnosmyahamatra ciraṃtanaḥ | tvaṃ tu māṃ naiva jānāsi jāne tvāṃ hi ripuṃjayam
ബ്രാഹ്മണൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ ഭൂപാലാ! ഞാൻ ഇവിടെ വളരെ കാലമായി, ചിരന്തനമായി വസിക്കുന്നു. എന്നാൽ നീ എന്നെ തിരിച്ചറിയുന്നില്ല; ഞാൻ നിന്നെ ‘രിപുഞ്ജയ’—ശത്രുജയി—എന്നായി അറിയുന്നു।
Brāhmaṇa (Vedhā/Brahmā in disguise, inferred from prior verse)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Implied audience
Scene: The aged brāhmaṇa speaks with quiet authority: ‘I have been here since long ages’; the king listens, surprised, as the brāhmaṇa names him ‘Ripuñjaya’. The atmosphere suggests hidden divinity and the weight of time.
FAQs
Outer appearances can conceal higher realities; dharma unfolds through humility, recognition, and the testing of kingship.
The dialogue belongs to the Vārāṇasī/Kāśī narrative cycle in Kāśīkhaṇḍa.
None; the verse is primarily dialogic, establishing identity and relationship between the brāhmaṇa and the king.