Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49
शरत्काले यथा व्योम्नि नक्षत्राणि द्विजोत्तमाः । तथान्या स्पर्द्धया युक्ता ययाचेऽमलवर्चसम् । हारं निर्मूल्यतायुक्तं चित्ताह्लादकरं परम्
śaratkāle yathā vyomni nakṣatrāṇi dvijottamāḥ | tathānyā sparddhayā yuktā yayāce'malavarcasam | hāraṃ nirmūlyatāyuktaṃ cittāhlādakaraṃ param
اے بہترینِ دو بار جنم لینے والے! جیسے خزاں کے موسم میں آسمان پر ستارے چمکتے ہیں، ویسے ہی ایک اور عورت رقابت سے بھر کر ایک روشن و بے داغ ہار مانگنے لگی، جو قیمت سے ماورا اور دل کو اعلیٰ ترین مسرت دینے والا تھا۔
Narrator addressing dvija-uttama (best of brāhmaṇas) (explicit vocative)
Listener: dvijoत्तama (addressed Brahmin interlocutor)
Scene: Autumn-sky imagery overlays a courtly scene: a spotless, radiant necklace held up, its gleam likened to stars; women look on with rivalry as Damayantī remains composed.
FAQs
Rivalry and craving can eclipse the sanctity of charity; the verse highlights how desire multiplies when rare gifts appear.
No particular tīrtha is named in this verse; it continues the chapter’s broader tīrtha narrative.
None directly; it describes the act of asking for a valuable ornament within a charitable distribution.