Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 11
कंठपाशेन निष्कास्य केन वै वार्यते भवान् । गोपालमन्यं कुरुते रक्षणाय च गोपतिः । सुतृणं चारयन्पूर्वो गोपः किं कुरुते तदा
kaṃṭhapāśena niṣkāsya kena vai vāryate bhavān | gopālamanyaṃ kurute rakṣaṇāya ca gopatiḥ | sutṛṇaṃ cārayanpūrvo gopaḥ kiṃ kurute tadā
“Jika Engkau menghalau (dia) dengan jerat di leher, siapakah yang dapat menahan-Mu? Apabila Penguasa ternakan melantik seorang gembala lain untuk perlindungan, apakah yang dilakukan gembala terdahulu ketika itu—tatkala dia sekadar menggembala pada rumput yang baik?”
Bāṇa (using an analogy to argue his case)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (typical frame; not explicit in excerpt)
Scene: Bali’s son speaks sharply, using the cowherd metaphor: a former herdsman, replaced by the lord of cattle, can only graze grass—he cannot claim guardianship. The scene is a charged court-like exchange before Janārdana.
FAQs
The verse argues about rightful authority through analogy: when a superior appoints protection, the prior agent yields—highlighting hierarchy, duty, and legitimacy.
This reasoning appears within the Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya of Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, where moral discourse accompanies pilgrimage glorification.
No ritual is prescribed; the passage is argumentative, using a pastoral analogy to discuss rightful action.