Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 34
परावसुरुवाच । करोमि वो न चेद्वाक्यं तत्पृच्छामि कुतो द्विजाः । नाहं केनापि संदृष्टो मद्यपानं समाचरन्
parāvasuruvāca | karomi vo na cedvākyaṃ tatpṛcchāmi kuto dvijāḥ | nāhaṃ kenāpi saṃdṛṣṭo madyapānaṃ samācaran
പരാവസു പറഞ്ഞു— “ഞാൻ നിങ്ങളുടെ വാക്ക് അനുസരിക്കും; എങ്കിലും, ഹേ ദ്വിജന്മാരേ, ചോദിക്കുന്നു—ഇത് എങ്ങനെ അറിഞ്ഞു? മദ്യപാനം ചെയ്യുമ്പോൾ എന്നെ ആരും കണ്ടിട്ടില്ല।”
Parāvasu
Type: kshetra
Scene: Parāvasu agrees to comply but questions the brāhmaṇas: how is his drinking known if no one saw him? His face shows anxious sincerity; the brāhmaṇas remain composed, ready to explain dharma’s basis.
FAQs
Moral law is not dependent on human witnesses; conscience, śāstra, and truth determine the need for purification.
No tīrtha is mentioned here; the focus is on dharma reasoning around prāyaścitta.
No specific prāyaścitta is stated in this verse; Parāvasu accepts instruction in principle and asks how the fault is established.