Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5
अहो होतुः स्थिते प्रैषे दीर्घसत्रसमुद्भवे । स सर्पो वेष्टयामास तस्य गात्रं समंततः
aho hotuḥ sthite praiṣe dīrghasatrasamudbhave | sa sarpo veṣṭayāmāsa tasya gātraṃ samaṃtataḥ
ਹਾਏ! ਲੰਬੇ ਸਤ੍ਰ-ਯਜ੍ਞ ਦੇ ਵਿਚਕਾਰ, ਜਦ ਹੋਤ੍ਰ ਆਪਣੇ ਨਿਯਤ ਸਥਾਨ ਤੇ ਖੜਾ ਸੀ, ਉਹ ਸੱਪ ਉਸ ਦੇ ਸਰੀਰ ਨੂੰ ਚੌਫੇਰੋਂ ਲਪੇਟ ਗਿਆ।
Narrator (contextual purāṇic narration; likely Sūta/Skanda depending on Nāgarakhaṇḍa frame)
Scene: In the center of the yajña, the hotṛ stands firm at his station while a serpent coils around his torso and limbs; the surrounding priests watch in shock, yet the hotṛ’s gaze remains fixed on the rite.
FAQs
Even amid sudden danger, the ordained duties of yajña highlight discipline; the narrative sets up the karmic and ethical consequences that follow.
The tīrtha is part of the broader chapter context, but it is not identified in this verse alone.
The verse references the hotṛ’s station and a dīrgha-satra, but gives no direct instruction beyond describing the scene.
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