Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 68
अन्यायेन धनादानं तंद्री नास्तिक्यमेव च । क्रौर्यं च याचकाद्यं च तामसं गुणलक्षणम्
anyāyena dhanādānaṃ taṃdrī nāstikyameva ca | krauryaṃ ca yācakādyaṃ ca tāmasaṃ guṇalakṣaṇam
إعطاءُ المال من طريقٍ ظالم، والكسلُ والخمول، والإلحادُ أو قلّةُ التوقير، والقسوة، واعتيادُ الاستجداء وما شابهه—تلك هي علاماتُ الغونا التامسية.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative convention)
Scene: A contrast scene: on one side, a dark figure offers coins gained by injustice; on the other, a compassionate giver offers clean water/food; shadows of sloth and cruelty loom behind the tāmasa figure.
FAQs
Tamas is identified by inertia and moral distortion—unjust gain, sloth, irreverence, cruelty—so one should avoid these to protect dharma and clarity.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is a doctrinal teaching on guṇas within the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa.
No explicit rite is prescribed; the verse gives ethical diagnostics (what to renounce) rather than a vrata, dāna, or snāna rule.