Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 49
ऋषय ऊचुः । केन क्षुधाभितप्तानामस्माकं पापकर्मणा । बिसानि तानि सर्वाणि हृतानि च मुनीश्वराः
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | kena kṣudhābhitaptānāmasmākaṃ pāpakarmaṇā | bisāni tāni sarvāṇi hṛtāni ca munīśvarāḥ
เหล่าฤๅษีกล่าวว่า: “ผู้ใดเล่า—ด้วยกรรมบาปอันใดต่อพวกเราผู้ถูกความหิวเผาผลาญ—ได้ฉกเอาก้านบัวเหล่านั้นไปทั้งหมด โอ้ท่านมุนีผู้เป็นใหญ่?”
Ṛṣis
Tirtha: Prabhāsa (saras-bank episode)
Type: kund
Scene: A spokesman among the sages addresses the group, palms open in questioning; other rishis look troubled; the empty bank spot is visible; their lean bodies and simple attire emphasize hunger and austerity.
FAQs
Stealing—especially from ascetics and the needy—is pāpa; sacred settings intensify the demand for ethical clarity.
The narrative remains within Prabhāsa-kṣetra, at a lake-tīrtha where the sages had bathed.
None directly; the verse frames an ethical breach (steya) that will lead to vows or imprecations in subsequent lines.