Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4
भर्तृयज्ञ उवाच । नष्टवंशस्तु यो ब्रूयान्नागरोऽस्मीति संसदि । तस्य शीलं प्रविज्ञेयं ततः शुद्धिं समादिशेत्
bhartṛyajña uvāca | naṣṭavaṃśastu yo brūyānnāgaro'smīti saṃsadi | tasya śīlaṃ pravijñeyaṃ tataḥ śuddhiṃ samādiśet
ภฤตฤยัชญะกล่าวว่า: หากผู้ที่วงศ์สกุลสูญสิ้นประกาศในที่ประชุมว่า ‘เราคือนาคาระ’ พึงตรวจสอบศีลาจารวัตร (ศีละ) ของเขาให้ถี่ถ้วนก่อน แล้วจึงบัญญัติพิธีชำระให้บริสุทธิ์ตามควร
Bhartṛyajña
Listener: Mahārāja (king; addressed as narottama/mahārāja)
Scene: A royal or learned assembly (saṃsad) where a man of uncertain lineage declares himself a Nāgara; elders and brāhmaṇas deliberate, weighing his conduct and prescribing purification.
FAQs
When genealogy is uncertain, character and conduct become the decisive dharmic measure for restoring ritual standing.
The broader discourse is situated in the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa’s Nāgara-khaṇḍa.
A two-step method: (1) ascertain śīla in an assembly, (2) then prescribe the appropriate śuddhi (purificatory validation).