Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 149
एतस्मिन्नंतरे लोकः सर्व एव प्रशंकितः । अब्रवीच्च मिथोऽभ्येत्य चंडालोऽयमसंशयम्
etasminnaṃtare lokaḥ sarva eva praśaṃkitaḥ | abravīcca mitho'bhyetya caṃḍālo'yamasaṃśayam
ครั้นนั้นผู้คนทั้งปวงก็เกิดความระแวง และต่างเข้ามากระซิบกันว่า “ชายผู้นี้เป็นจัณฑาลแน่นอน มิใช่มีข้อสงสัย”
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A group of townspeople gather in a lane or market, whispering and pointing; their faces show suspicion as they pronounce a verdict about the man’s status.
FAQs
Social perception can quickly harden into accusation; dharma requires careful inquiry and proper rites to resolve doubt rather than rash condemnation.
The immediate verse focuses on the crowd’s reaction; the chapter later centers on Brahmasthāna as the site connected with removing suspicion.
None in this verse; it describes communal suspicion and labeling.