Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26
हतशेषास्ततो विप्रा गत्वा स्कन्दं क्रुधान्विताः । प्रोचुश्च किमिदं पाप त्वया कृतमबुद्धिना
hataśeṣāstato viprā gatvā skandaṃ krudhānvitāḥ | procuśca kimidaṃ pāpa tvayā kṛtamabuddhinā
അപ്പോൾ ശേഷിച്ച ബ്രാഹ്മണർ ക്രോധം നിറഞ്ഞ് സ്കന്ദനടുത്തേക്ക് ചെന്നു പറഞ്ഞു— “അവിവേകത്തോടെ നീ ചെയ്ത ഈ പാപകൃത്യം എന്ത്?”
Viprāḥ (Brāhmaṇas)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Skanda
Scene: Surviving brāhmaṇas, dust-streaked and grieving, stride toward Skanda with raised hands and stern faces, voicing accusation of pāpa and abuddhi.
FAQs
Even divine acts may be questioned by the righteous; dharma welcomes inquiry when harm appears to have occurred.
The verse sits within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (Adhyāya 71), in the episode connected with Raktaśṛṅga (a sacred mountain/tīrtha setting).
No direct ritual is prescribed here; it introduces a moral confrontation that leads to restoration and tīrtha-glorification.