Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20
नन्दिन्युवाच । शपथैरागमिष्यामि यैः पुनर्व्याघ्र तेंऽतिकम् । तानाकर्णय मे वक्त्रात्ततो युक्तं समाचर
nandinyuvāca | śapathairāgamiṣyāmi yaiḥ punarvyāghra teṃ'tikam | tānākarṇaya me vaktrāttato yuktaṃ samācara
Nandinī berkata: “Wahai harimau, aku akan kembali kepadamu, terikat oleh sumpah-sumpah yang suci. Dengarlah ikrar itu dari mulutku sendiri; kemudian lakukanlah apa yang wajar dan patut.”
Nandinī
Listener: Vyāghra (tiger)
Scene: Nandinī raises her hand in a gesture of assurance, speaking calmly to the tiger, asking him to listen to her vows before acting; the tiger pauses, attention drawn to speech rather than violence.
FAQs
Dharma is upheld by truthfulness and keeping one’s pledged word, even under fear or danger.
The verse sits within the Tīrthamāhātmya of Nāgarakhaṇḍa, framing the narrative as a sacred-geography teaching, though this line itself names no particular tīrtha.
No ritual is prescribed here; it introduces solemn oaths (śapatha) as a dharmic commitment.