Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 55
एवंविधान् द्विजान् दृष्ट्वा जानुभ्यामवनिं गतः । प्रणम्य शिरसा राजन्राजा वचनमब्रवीत्
evaṃvidhān dvijān dṛṣṭvā jānubhyāmavaniṃ gataḥ | praṇamya śirasā rājanrājā vacanamabravīt
ครั้นทอดพระเนตรพราหมณ์ผู้เกิดสองครั้ง (ทวิชะ) ผู้มีวัตรเช่นนั้น พระราชาทรงคุกเข่าลงแตะพื้นดิน. แล้วทรงน้อมเศียรทำประณามะ ข้าแต่พระราชา จากนั้นพระราชาจึงตรัสถ้อยคำเหล่านี้.
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: A king approaches a gathering of austere brāhmaṇas on the riverbank; he descends to his knees and bows his head in full humility, hands folded, as the ascetics sit calmly with water pots and rosaries; the moment is charged with reverent silence before speech begins.
FAQs
Even royal power is fulfilled only through humility and reverence toward the spiritually accomplished and learned.
The verse prepares the inquiry that leads to a specific tīrtha in the Revā-kṣetra; the site is named in the following verses.
The implied dharma is respectful prostration and proper approach to sages when seeking sacred knowledge.