Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 47
न मया विहितं चौर्यं परदारा न सेविताः । पश्यध्वं मणिभद्रेण यथाहं क्लेशितो जनाः
na mayā vihitaṃ cauryaṃ paradārā na sevitāḥ | paśyadhvaṃ maṇibhadreṇa yathāhaṃ kleśito janāḥ
‘ข้ามิได้กระทำการลักขโมยเลย และมิได้เสพสมกับภรรยาผู้อื่น ดูเถิด ชนทั้งหลาย—มณิภัทราได้ทำให้ข้าถูกทรมานเพียงใด!’
Puṣpa (the brāhmaṇa, speaking to the people; inferred from immediate narrative context)
Scene: The revived brāhmaṇa, still wet and weak, raises a hand in testimony, declaring innocence and pointing to the unseen agency of Maṇibhadra as the cause of his torment; listeners react with shock and concern.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma emphasizes truthfulness and moral purity; wrongful persecution of the innocent becomes a cause for karmic consequence.
The episode belongs to the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya stream (Puṣpāditya Māhātmya) inside Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya.
No direct rite is prescribed here; the verse functions as a dharmic testimony of innocence.