Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9
ऋषय ऊचुः । क्षत्रियोऽपि कथं विप्रो विश्वा मित्रो महामते । वसिष्ठेन कथं नोक्तो यः प्रोक्तो ब्रह्मणा स्वयम्
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | kṣatriyo'pi kathaṃ vipro viśvā mitro mahāmate | vasiṣṭhena kathaṃ nokto yaḥ prokto brahmaṇā svayam
Para ṛṣi berkata: Wahai yang berjiwa agung, walaupun seorang kṣatriya, bagaimana Viśvāmitra menjadi seorang brāhmaṇa? Dan mengapa Vasiṣṭha tidak mengakuinya, sedangkan Brahmā sendiri telah mengisytiharkannya?
Ṛṣis (sages)
Listener: Sūta
Scene: A circle of sages, seated in a forest hermitage, question the bard Sūta about the paradox of Viśvāmitra’s brahminhood and Vasiṣṭha’s refusal to acknowledge it, with subtle cosmic witnesses implied (Brahmā’s decree).
FAQs
Dharma discourse tests authority, recognition, and transformation—asking how spiritual attainment is validated in tradition.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it continues the inquiry that contextualizes the Sarasvatī and later Narmadā sacred geography.
None; it is a theological-social question about brāhmaṇya and recognition.