Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 22
दूषयेत कुलं क्वापि कथं रक्ष्या हि बालिका । नोपायो विद्यते क्वापि भानुमत्याश्च रक्षणे । परस्परं विवदतोः श्रुत्वा तत्कन्यकाब्रवीत्
dūṣayeta kulaṃ kvāpi kathaṃ rakṣyā hi bālikā | nopāyo vidyate kvāpi bhānumatyāśca rakṣaṇe | parasparaṃ vivadatoḥ śrutvā tatkanyakābravīt
‘کہیں نہ کہیں یہ خاندان پر داغ لگا دے گی—آخر اس لڑکی کی حفاظت کیسے ہو؟ بھانومتی کی نگہبانی کے لیے کہیں بھی کوئی تدبیر نہیں ملتی۔’ دونوں کو آپس میں جھگڑتے سن کر وہ کنیا بولی۔
Narrator (reporting the king and queen’s exchange; then introducing Bhānumatī’s speech)
Scene: A palace chamber: two elders/guardians argue anxiously about safeguarding Bhānumatī; the maiden stands nearby, composed, about to speak, shifting the scene from agitation to resolve.
FAQs
Social responsibility (kuladharma) demands proactive protection and guidance, not merely fear of disgrace.
No specific tīrtha is named; the verse is narrative within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred setting.
None explicitly; the verse transitions toward Bhānumatī’s chosen religious discipline in subsequent lines.