Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 81
ततः प्रोवाच तान्विप्रान्कृतांजलिपुटः स्थितः । वेपमानो भयत्रस्तःकुण्डान्निष्क्रम्य पावकः
tataḥ provāca tānviprānkṛtāṃjalipuṭaḥ sthitaḥ | vepamāno bhayatrastaḥkuṇḍānniṣkramya pāvakaḥ
അപ്പോൾ പാവകൻ (അഗ്നി) കുണ്ടത്തിൽ നിന്ന് പുറത്തുവന്ന് കൈകൂപ്പി നിന്നു; ഭയത്താൽ വിറച്ച് ആ ബ്രാഹ്മണന്മാരോട് സംസാരിച്ചു।
Sūta (narrator) (implied from narrative flow)
Type: kund
Scene: From the kuṇḍa rises a personified Agni—radiant yet visibly trembling—hands folded in añjali, addressing a semicircle of brāhmaṇas; flames and water coexist as a paradoxical aura.
FAQs
It models humility and respectful approach (añjali) even for a divine power like Agni when confronting dharmic authority and potential wrongdoing.
The verse situates the event at a kuṇḍa central to the tīrtha-māhātmya, but does not name the site explicitly.
No prescription is given here; it narrates the ritual setting (kuṇḍa) and the posture of reverence (añjali).