Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 28
वक्तुं तद्विषये यच्च प्रोच्यते कामपीडितैः । अधोमुखाऽलिखद्भूमिमंगुष्ठेन स्थिता चिरम्
vaktuṃ tadviṣaye yacca procyate kāmapīḍitaiḥ | adhomukhā'likhadbhūmimaṃguṣṭhena sthitā ciram
కామపీడితులు ఆ విషయమై ఏదేమి పలికినా, ఆమె ముఖం వంచి చాలాసేపు నిలిచి, బొటనవేలితో నేలపై గీతలు గీసుతూ ఉండెను।
Narrator (within Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya frame; exact speaker not in snippet)
Scene: A group speaks suggestively; the woman stands apart, face lowered, silently tracing lines on the earth with her thumb—time stretching in stillness.
FAQs
Unchecked desire leads to agitation and shame; dharma begins with inner restraint and humility.
The broader passage belongs to a tīrtha-māhātmya connected with Candrakūpikā and Kāmeśvara, though this verse itself is narrative description.
None in this verse; it sets the emotional and ethical tone for the tīrtha narrative.