Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2
पुरा मंकिरभूद्विप्रो नाममात्रेण भूपते । मूर्खो ब्राह्मणकृत्यानामनभिज्ञः सुमन्दधीः
purā maṃkirabhūdvipro nāmamātreṇa bhūpate | mūrkho brāhmaṇakṛtyānāmanabhijñaḥ sumandadhīḥ
اے بھوپتے! قدیم زمانے میں منکی نام کا ایک وِپر تھا، جو صرف نام کا برہمن تھا؛ نادان، برہمنی فرائض سے بے خبر اور نہایت کند فہم۔
Pulastya (narrating to the king)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa (narrative frame)
Type: kshetra
Listener: King (addressed as bhūpate/nṛpasattama)
Scene: A rustic brāhmaṇa-in-name-only, poorly dressed and bewildered, stands before a kingly listener as the narrator introduces his ignorance; background hints of coastal sacred landscape and distant temple silhouettes.
FAQs
Birth or title alone is not dharma; true brāhmaṇahood is defined by conduct, knowledge, and prescribed duties.
The narrative is leading into Piṇḍāraka Tīrtha’s māhātmya, though the site is not named in this verse itself.
None directly; it sets up a moral narrative about ignorance of brāhmaṇical rites and duties.