Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11
राजोवाच उपकारं समासाद्य यः करोति न पापकृत् । उपकारं पुनस्तस्य स कृतघ्न उदाहृतः
rājovāca upakāraṃ samāsādya yaḥ karoti na pāpakṛt | upakāraṃ punastasya sa kṛtaghna udāhṛtaḥ
राजोवाच—उपकारं समासाद्य यो न पापकृत्, स न दोषी। उपकारस्य प्रत्युपकारं यः न करोति, स कृतघ्न इति कीर्त्यते।
Rājā (the King)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis (frame; not explicit here)
Scene: A king, hands in a teaching gesture, explains the ethics of repaying kindness to ascetic brāhmaṇas; the courtly aura is restrained, emphasizing moral instruction over power.
FAQs
Gratitude is dharma: receiving help should lead to benevolent reciprocity; failing to repay kindness is a serious ethical fault.
This verse primarily teaches dharma (gratitude) within the Tīrthamāhātmya context; the specific tīrtha is not named in this shloka.
No explicit ritual (snāna, japa, dāna) is prescribed here; it is an ethical definition concerning kṛtaghnatā (ingratitude).