Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11
तत्किं स्याद्वाक्यमात्रेण नो वा ब्राह्मणसत्तम । अत्र मे संशयस्तत्त्वं यथावद्वक्तुमर्हसि
tatkiṃ syādvākyamātreṇa no vā brāhmaṇasattama | atra me saṃśayastattvaṃ yathāvadvaktumarhasi
“Adakah ia berkuat kuasa hanya dengan kata-kata semata, atau tidak, wahai brāhmaṇa yang paling utama? Di sini aku ragu—jelaskanlah kebenaran dengan tepat sebagaimana adanya.”
Bhīṣma
Listener: Mārkaṇḍeya (as the one requested to clarify)
Scene: A respectful inquirer, hands folded, addresses a venerable brāhmaṇa-sage in an āśrama or tīrtha-side assembly; the moment is suspended on the edge of a doctrinal clarification.
FAQs
Dharma requires discernment: one must ask whether moral consequence depends on speech, intent, or resulting harm.
None specified in this verse.
None; it requests a doctrinal clarification.