Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 32
कपिलोवाच । वेदाध्ययनसंपन्नं ब्राह्मणं वंचयेत्तु यः । तेन पापेन लिप्यामि यद्यहं नागमे पुनः
kapilovāca | vedādhyayanasaṃpannaṃ brāhmaṇaṃ vaṃcayettu yaḥ | tena pāpena lipyāmi yadyahaṃ nāgame punaḥ
കപില പറഞ്ഞു—വേദാധ്യയനസമ്പന്നനായ ബ്രാഹ്മണനെ വഞ്ചിക്കുന്നവന്റെ പാപം, ഞാൻ വീണ്ടും വരാതിരുന്നാൽ, എന്നെ ലിപ്തമാക്കട്ടെ.
Kapilā (Cow)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (implied frame)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Implied interlocutor(s) in the episode (not specified in the verse)
Scene: Kapilā, in a solemn moment, raises a hand in oath, declaring that failure to return should bind her with the sin of deceiving a Veda-accomplished brāhmaṇa; the setting suggests a sacred grove or tīrtha precinct.
FAQs
Truthfulness is made sacred by linking it to grave moral consequence—deceit against the learned is a heavy sin, so one must keep one’s word.
No tīrtha is directly mentioned; the verse emphasizes dharma through oath-taking within the Arbuda narrative.
None; it is an oath formula invoking pāpa as a deterrent against breaking one’s promise.