Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 35
राक्षस उवाच । आधिपत्ये स्थितस्यैवं राक्षसानां पितामह । किं मया तत्र भोक्तव्यं तेभ्यो देयं च किं वद
rākṣasa uvāca | ādhipatye sthitasyaivaṃ rākṣasānāṃ pitāmaha | kiṃ mayā tatra bhoktavyaṃ tebhyo deyaṃ ca kiṃ vada
Rākṣasa itu berkata: “Wahai Pitāmaha, apabila aku ditegakkan demikian dalam kedaulatan atas para rākṣasa, apakah yang boleh aku nikmati di sana, dan apakah yang harus diberikan kepada mereka? Katakanlah kepadaku.”
Rākṣasa (unnamed; likely Viśvāvasu in rākṣasa-form from prior verse)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Brahmā (Pitāmaha)
Scene: A rākṣasa-king (or aspirant ruler) stands with folded hands before Pitāmaha (Brahmā), asking what he may enjoy and what he must distribute to his rākṣasa retinue; the setting hints at a sacred narrative space within a tīrtha-māhātmya.
FAQs
Even those of fierce nature are brought under dharma by asking: what is permitted (bhoktavya) and what is obligatory to give (deya).
The question arises within the Nāgara-khaṇḍa’s sacred-region narrative (around Nāgara/Camatkārapura), where conduct is regulated to protect the tīrtha-field.
No explicit rite; it anticipates prescriptions about permissible consumption and appropriate offerings/allocations (a dharmic code for governance).