Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 34
ब्राह्मण उवाच । भूपाल बहुकालीनोस्म्यहमत्र चिरंतनः । त्वं तु मां नैव जानासि जाने त्वां हि रिपुंजयम्
brāhmaṇa uvāca | bhūpāla bahukālīnosmyahamatra ciraṃtanaḥ | tvaṃ tu māṃ naiva jānāsi jāne tvāṃ hi ripuṃjayam
برہمن نے کہا: “اے بھوپال! میں بہت طویل زمانے سے یہیں ہوں، اس مقام کا قدیم باشندہ۔ مگر تم مجھے نہیں پہچانتے؛ میں تو تمہیں رِپُنجَے، دشمنوں کے فاتح کے طور پر جانتا ہوں۔”
Brāhmaṇa (Vedhā/Brahmā in disguise, inferred from prior verse)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Implied audience
Scene: The aged brāhmaṇa speaks with quiet authority: ‘I have been here since long ages’; the king listens, surprised, as the brāhmaṇa names him ‘Ripuñjaya’. The atmosphere suggests hidden divinity and the weight of time.
FAQs
Outer appearances can conceal higher realities; dharma unfolds through humility, recognition, and the testing of kingship.
The dialogue belongs to the Vārāṇasī/Kāśī narrative cycle in Kāśīkhaṇḍa.
None; the verse is primarily dialogic, establishing identity and relationship between the brāhmaṇa and the king.