Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 43
न खाद मम भर्त्तारं प्राणात्प्रियतमं प्रभो । आर्त्तानां शरणार्त्तानां त्वमेव हि यतो गतिः
na khāda mama bharttāraṃ prāṇātpriyatamaṃ prabho | ārttānāṃ śaraṇārttānāṃ tvameva hi yato gatiḥ
“اے پروردگار، میرے شوہر کو نہ کھاؤ—وہ مجھے جان سے بھی زیادہ عزیز ہے۔ مصیبت زدوں اور فریاد کرنے والوں کے لیے تم ہی سچا سہارا اور آخری ٹھکانہ ہو۔”
The wife (Madayantī, continuing her plea)
Scene: The woman clings to the idea of refuge—hands folded, body bent forward, tears streaming; the captor looms but is addressed as ‘lord’ and ‘shelter,’ creating a dramatic moral inversion.
FAQs
Seeking refuge (śaraṇāgati) is upheld as sacred; the powerful are morally bound to protect those who surrender in distress.
No tīrtha is mentioned in this verse.
None; it is a supplication grounded in dharma.