Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21
उत्तंक उवाच । अवश्यं भक्षय त्वं मामेकं शृणु नराधिप । देहि मे कुण्डले तात दत्त्वाऽहं गुरवे पुनः । आगमिष्यामि भक्षस्व मा त्वं कार्यविवर्जितम्
uttaṃka uvāca | avaśyaṃ bhakṣaya tvaṃ māmekaṃ śṛṇu narādhipa | dehi me kuṇḍale tāta dattvā'haṃ gurave punaḥ | āgamiṣyāmi bhakṣasva mā tvaṃ kāryavivarjitam
उत्तंक म्हणाला— “हे नराधिप, तू मला अवश्य भक्षण कर; पण एक गोष्ट ऐक. तात, मला ती कुंडले दे; ती गुरूंना देऊन मी पुन्हा येईन. मग मला भक्ष; तू आपल्या कार्यापासून वंचित राहू नकोस.”
Uttaṅka
Scene: Uttaṅka, fearless, offers himself to be eaten but requests the earrings first to return them to his guru, promising to come back for the king’s act.
FAQs
Guru-bhakti and commitment to one’s vow stand above even fear of death; dharma is upheld through steadfast truth and duty.
The verse occurs in the Arbuda-khaṇḍa (connected with Arbuda/Aravalli sacred geography), but this line focuses on the ethical narrative rather than a tīrtha-phala.
A dharmic ‘prescription’ is implied: fulfilling the guru’s command (guru-ājñā) and returning what is due; no formal rite is described.