Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25
किं त्वया निहतो विप्रोगुरुर्वाबालकोऽथवा । नारी वा येन ते नष्टं तेजो गात्रसमुद्भवम्
kiṃ tvayā nihato viprogururvābālako'thavā | nārī vā yena te naṣṭaṃ tejo gātrasamudbhavam
“Adakah engkau telah membunuh seorang brāhmaṇa, atau seorang guru, atau mungkin seorang kanak-kanak—atau seorang wanita—sehingga lenyaplah cahaya teja yang lahir dari anggota tubuhmu sendiri?”
Diti (addressing Śakra/Indra)
Listener: Sages (frame implied)
Scene: Diti’s face turns stern as she enumerates possible grave sins; Indra recoils inwardly, eyes lowered, as if each accusation strikes like a bell of conscience.
FAQs
Grave adharmic acts—especially violence toward protected persons (guru, brāhmaṇa, women, children)—are shown to extinguish tejas and bring visible decline.
The verse is situated in Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (Adhyāya 22), but the tīrtha name is not specified within this single śloka.
No direct rite is prescribed here; the verse functions as a dharmic interrogation about the cause of downfall.