Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 13
प्रतिज्ञायाप्रयच्छन्यो ह्यल्पायुर्जायते नरः । विप्रवृत्त्यपहारी स्यादजीर्णी सर्वदाऽधमः
pratijñāyāprayacchanyo hyalpāyurjāyate naraḥ | vipravṛttyapahārī syādajīrṇī sarvadā'dhamaḥ
प्रतिज्ञां कृत्वा यो न ददाति प्रतिश्रुतं, स नरः अल्पायुः प्रजायते। यो विप्रवृत्तिम् अपहरति, स नित्यं अजीर्णी भवति, सर्वदा चाधमः स्मृतः।
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)
Scene: A householder publicly makes a pledge before elders and a brāhmaṇa, then withholds the promised gift; beside him, a brāhmaṇa’s livelihood is taken away—shown as a stolen bundle of grain/coins—while the moral consequence is hinted through a withered lifespan motif and a figure clutching his stomach in indigestion.
FAQs
Integrity in speech and generosity in fulfilled pledges are dharma; betrayal of vows and exploitation of the pious bring swift karmic decline.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse focuses on ethical causality (karmavipāka).
The verse implies the dharma of honoring one’s promised dāna (gift/charity), though no detailed ritual is specified.