Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 77
ततः संवत्सरस्यांते चंडालेन द्विजोत्तमाः । स प्रोक्त उचिते काले प्रणिपत्य च दूरतः
tataḥ saṃvatsarasyāṃte caṃḍālena dvijottamāḥ | sa prokta ucite kāle praṇipatya ca dūrataḥ
பின்னர் ஆண்டின் முடிவில், ஓ த்விஜோத்தமரே, உரிய காலத்தில் அந்த சாண்டாளன் தூரத்திலிருந்தே வணங்கி அவனை நோக்கி உரைத்தான்।
Sūta (narration)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis/Brāhmaṇas (dvija audience implied by address)
Scene: At year’s end, a caṇḍāla stands at a respectful distance, hands folded, addressing a revered dvija/kingly figure at the ‘proper time’; the space between them is emphasized.
FAQs
Long, sustained discipline bears fruit in due time; humility and respectful conduct open the way to instruction and resolution.
No explicit tīrtha-name is given in this verse; the emphasis is on the timed culmination of the king’s discipline within the tīrtha-māhātmya narrative.
A year-long period of conduct is implied, but the verse itself does not detail a formal vrata; it notes the ‘proper time’ and an act of prostration.