Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16
निर्दोषो ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठ तस्माच्छापात्प्ररक्ष माम् । तच्छ्रुत्वा च्यवनं प्राह कृपाविष्टो भृगुः स्वयम्
nirdoṣo brāhmaṇaśreṣṭha tasmācchāpātprarakṣa mām | tacchrutvā cyavanaṃ prāha kṛpāviṣṭo bhṛguḥ svayam
अहं निर्दोषः, हे ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठ; तस्मात् शापात् मां प्ररक्ष। इति श्रुत्वा भृगुः कृपाविष्टः स्वयमेव च्यवनं प्राह।
First half: the cursed one; second half: narrator introducing Bhṛgu’s response to Cyavana
Scene: The petitioner pleads, ‘I am blameless—protect me’; Bhṛgu’s face softens with compassion as he turns to address Cyavana.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma highlights both innocence (nirdoṣatā) and the compassionate duty of sages to restore balance.
Not named in this verse; the narrative culminates in a sacred-water/field instruction connected to Hāṭakeśvara.
No ritual is specified here; it sets up the authoritative intervention that later becomes tied to a sacred location.