Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 11
अथोपरिचरस्तत्र क्लिश्यमानान्हि तानृषीन् । दृष्ट्वा राजा वृषादर्भिः प्रोवाचेदं वचस्तदा
athoparicarastatra kliśyamānānhi tānṛṣīn | dṛṣṭvā rājā vṛṣādarbhiḥ provācedaṃ vacastadā
Kemudian Raja Uparicara, melihat para resi di sana benar-benar menderita, lalu—dengan vṛṣa-darbha (lembu jantan dan rumput darbha) sebagai tanda upacara—bertutur kata ini pada waktu itu.
Narrator (describing King Uparicara’s action); the next verses would contain Uparicara’s direct speech
Tirtha: Prabhāsakṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (implied)
Scene: A king approaches a group of austerity-worn sages in a sacred coastal grove of Prabhāsa; the sages appear fatigued, seated on kuśa/darbha mats; the king stands respectfully holding ritual tokens (darbha, possibly a bull emblem/vr̥ṣa sign) as he begins to speak.
FAQs
Rāja-dharma is shown as protection and support of sages and dharma during calamity, not mere rule in prosperity.
The setting remains Prabhāsa Kṣetra within the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya.
No explicit prescription, but the mention of darbha suggests a ritual-ethical context (purity, Vedic propriety) framing the king’s intervention.