Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44
तद्दृष्ट्वा विस्मितः सोऽथ आनर्ताधिपतिर्नृपः । पश्चात्तापं परं चक्रे धिङ्मयैवमनुष्ठितम्
taddṛṣṭvā vismitaḥ so'tha ānartādhipatirnṛpaḥ | paścāttāpaṃ paraṃ cakre dhiṅmayaivamanuṣṭhitam
അതു കണ്ടു ആനർത്താധിപനായ രാജാവ് അത്യന്തം വിസ്മയിച്ചു. പിന്നെ അവൻ ഗാഢമായ പശ്ചാത്താപത്തിൽ—“ധിക്, ഞാൻ ഇങ്ങനെ ആചരിച്ചു!” എന്നു പറഞ്ഞു.
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator)
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (typical frame; verse addresses 'dvija-śreṣṭha' in nearby context)
Scene: A royal figure (Ānarta king) stands stunned before a brāhmaṇa; his posture collapses into remorse—head bowed, palms half-folded—while attendants watch in silence near a sacred water-source.
FAQs
True kingship in Purāṇic dharma includes the capacity for repentance—recognizing wrong conduct and turning toward humility after divine signs.
This verse does not specify the tīrtha by name; it highlights the Māhātmya pattern where sacred power produces repentance and reform.
No direct prescription; it records the ethical outcome—paścāttāpa (remorse) and self-condemnation after witnessing a sacred wonder.