Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 87
पृष्टश्च किमिदं कर्म तवांत्यजजनोचितम् । एषा वेदात्मिका वाणी स्पष्टाक्षरकलस्वना । तत्किं शापपरिभ्रष्टस्त्वं कश्चिद्ब्राह्मणोत्तमः
pṛṣṭaśca kimidaṃ karma tavāṃtyajajanocitam | eṣā vedātmikā vāṇī spaṣṭākṣarakalasvanā | tatkiṃ śāpaparibhraṣṭastvaṃ kaścidbrāhmaṇottamaḥ
അവനോടു ചോദിച്ചു—“അന്ത്യജനോചിതമായ ഈ കര്മ്മം നീ എന്തിന് ചെയ്യുന്നു? പക്ഷേ നിന്റെ വാക്ക് വേദാത്മകമാണ്; വ്യക്തമായ അക്ഷരങ്ങളും മധുരസ്വരവും ഉണ്ട്. അതിനാൽ ശാപം മൂലം നില തെറ്റിയ ഏതെങ്കിലും ഉത്തമ ബ്രാഹ്മണനോ നീ?”
Brāhmaṇas led by Devaśarmā (interrogating the beaten man)
Type: kshetra
Scene: At a riverside or shrine precinct, a refined-speaking figure engaged in menial/antyaja-coded labor is questioned by a brāhmaṇa or pilgrim; the contrast between humble action and luminous, Vedic speech is central.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma urges discernment: sacred qualities (Vedic speech, saṃskāra) may exist beneath surprising circumstances, and suffering may arise from past causes such as śāpa.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a turning point in the tīrtha-māhātmya story where hidden identity is recognized.
No explicit prescription; the verse highlights vedātmikā vāṇī (Vedic recitation/intonation) and upholds Vedic discipline as a sign of dharmic identity.