Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 40
त्वमेको वनसंस्थस्तु निर्द्वन्द्वो निष्परिग्रहः । अथवा तव दास्यामि व्ययार्थे मुनिसत्तम । वरान्ग्रामांश्च हस्त्यश्वानन्यांश्चापि यथेप्सितान्
tvameko vanasaṃsthastu nirdvandvo niṣparigrahaḥ | athavā tava dāsyāmi vyayārthe munisattama | varāngrāmāṃśca hastyaśvānanyāṃścāpi yathepsitān
तू एकटाच वनात राहतोस, द्वंद्वविरहित व परिग्रहशून्य. किंवा, हे मुनिश्रेष्ठा, तुझ्या खर्चासाठी मी तुला उत्तम गावे, हत्ती-घोडे आणि इतरही इच्छित वस्तू देईन.
Viśvāmitra
Scene: The king tries persuasion: ‘You are alone, without possessions; I will give you villages, elephants, horses—anything.’ Vasiṣṭha remains unmoved; the cow stands as the silent axis of the negotiation.
FAQs
Dharma is not always negotiable with wealth; spiritual stewardship can outweigh royal offers.
No specific site is named in this verse; it serves the moral arc within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative.
Only a general notion of giving (dāna) is present, framed as compensation—not as a prescribed rite.