Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21
यत्पापं ब्रह्महत्यायां मातापित्रोश्च वंचने । तेन पापेन लिप्येहं नागच्छामि पुनर्यदि
yatpāpaṃ brahmahatyāyāṃ mātāpitrośca vaṃcane | tena pāpena lipyehaṃ nāgacchāmi punaryadi
“Apa jua dosa dalam membunuh seorang Brahmana, dan apa jua dosa dalam memperdaya ibu bapa—biarlah aku ternoda oleh dosa itu di sini, jika aku tidak kembali lagi.”
Nandinī
Listener: Vyāghra (tiger)
Scene: Nandinī pronounces a self-imprecatory oath, invoking the stain of brahmin-slaying and parental deception if she fails to return; the tiger listens, the air heavy with moral consequence.
FAQs
A vow is made sacred by staking one’s moral accountability; truthfulness is treated as a pillar of dharma.
The broader passage belongs to a tīrtha-māhātmya context, but this verse focuses on oath-taking rather than naming a site.
No rite is prescribed; the verse uses a śapatha (self-imprecatory oath) as a moral guarantee.