Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 71
देव्युवाच । नाहमेनं हनिष्यामि त्यजिष्यामि तथाऽमराः । एनं कचग्रहं कृत्वा धारयिष्यामि सर्वदा
devyuvāca | nāhamenaṃ haniṣyāmi tyajiṣyāmi tathā'marāḥ | enaṃ kacagrahaṃ kṛtvā dhārayiṣyāmi sarvadā
พระเทวีตรัสว่า: โอ้เหล่าอมตะ เรามิฆ่าเขา และมิทอดทิ้งเขาเลย เราจะคว้าปอยผมของเขาไว้ และทรงไว้เช่นนี้ตลอดกาล
Devī (Sureśvarī)
Tirtha: Vindhyavāsinī-kṣetra (implied)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Amarāḥ/Devas
Scene: The Goddess addresses the assembled Devas, declaring she will neither kill nor abandon the subdued being; she grips him by the hair, holding him in perpetual restraint—an icon of controlled ferocity and guardianship.
FAQs
Dharma can express itself as compassionate restraint—protecting the world without denying mercy to the surrendered.
The verse is within the Tīrthamāhātmya framework of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, but this particular line emphasizes Devī’s decision rather than a named tīrtha.
None; it narrates Devī’s chosen method of containment (kacagraha) rather than prescribing a human ritual.