Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49
शरत्काले यथा व्योम्नि नक्षत्राणि द्विजोत्तमाः । तथान्या स्पर्द्धया युक्ता ययाचेऽमलवर्चसम् । हारं निर्मूल्यतायुक्तं चित्ताह्लादकरं परम्
śaratkāle yathā vyomni nakṣatrāṇi dvijottamāḥ | tathānyā sparddhayā yuktā yayāce'malavarcasam | hāraṃ nirmūlyatāyuktaṃ cittāhlādakaraṃ param
ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമാ! ശരത്കാലത്തെ ആകാശത്തിൽ നക്ഷത്രങ്ങൾ എങ്ങനെ ദീപ്തമാകുന്നുവോ, അതുപോലെ സ്പർധയാൽ പ്രേരിതയായ മറ്റൊരു സ്ത്രീ നിർമലപ്രഭയുള്ള, അമൂല്യവും ഹൃദയാനന്ദകരവുമായ പരമഹാരം യാചിച്ചു।
Narrator addressing dvija-uttama (best of brāhmaṇas) (explicit vocative)
Listener: dvijoत्तama (addressed Brahmin interlocutor)
Scene: Autumn-sky imagery overlays a courtly scene: a spotless, radiant necklace held up, its gleam likened to stars; women look on with rivalry as Damayantī remains composed.
FAQs
Rivalry and craving can eclipse the sanctity of charity; the verse highlights how desire multiplies when rare gifts appear.
No particular tīrtha is named in this verse; it continues the chapter’s broader tīrtha narrative.
None directly; it describes the act of asking for a valuable ornament within a charitable distribution.