Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 49
भ्रातुर्मृतस्यभायायां यो गच्छेत्कामपूर्वकम् । धर्मेणापि नियुक्तायां स ज्ञेयो दिधिषूपतिः
bhrāturmṛtasyabhāyāyāṃ yo gacchetkāmapūrvakam | dharmeṇāpi niyuktāyāṃ sa jñeyo didhiṣūpatiḥ
Kẻ nào đến với vợ của người anh đã mất vì dục vọng—dẫu nàng đã được chỉ định hợp pháp theo niyoga—thì phải biết đó là “didhiṣūpati”, người chồng bị chê trách.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking in the Prabhāsa-kṣetra narrative context
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A widow in white sits in mourning; a man approaches with conflicted expression—one side of the composition shows dharma (elders, scriptures), the other shows kāma (shadowy cupid-like impulse), illustrating the verse’s focus on motive.
FAQs
Even when an act has a legal/dharmic framework, motive matters—lust corrupts what is meant to be duty.
Prabhāsa-kṣetra, whose māhātmya includes guidance for righteous household conduct.
A boundary on niyoga: approaching the deceased brother’s wife must be duty-based, not desire-based; otherwise one is labeled didhiṣūpati.