Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 47
न मया विहितं चौर्यं परदारा न सेविताः । पश्यध्वं मणिभद्रेण यथाहं क्लेशितो जनाः
na mayā vihitaṃ cauryaṃ paradārā na sevitāḥ | paśyadhvaṃ maṇibhadreṇa yathāhaṃ kleśito janāḥ
ഞാൻ ഒരിക്കലും മോഷണം ചെയ്തിട്ടില്ല; പരസ്ത്രീസംഗവും ചെയ്തിട്ടില്ല. ജനങ്ങളേ, നോക്കൂ—മണിഭദ്രൻ എങ്ങനെ എന്നെ പീഡിപ്പിച്ചു!
Puṣpa (the brāhmaṇa, speaking to the people; inferred from immediate narrative context)
Scene: The revived brāhmaṇa, still wet and weak, raises a hand in testimony, declaring innocence and pointing to the unseen agency of Maṇibhadra as the cause of his torment; listeners react with shock and concern.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma emphasizes truthfulness and moral purity; wrongful persecution of the innocent becomes a cause for karmic consequence.
The episode belongs to the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya stream (Puṣpāditya Māhātmya) inside Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya.
No direct rite is prescribed here; the verse functions as a dharmic testimony of innocence.