Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 80
यैर्वदवाक्यैस्त्वं मूढ संस्तुतोऽसि तपस्विभिः । ते मूढास्तो षयंति त्वां तत्तद्रागपरायणाः
yairvadavākyaistvaṃ mūḍha saṃstuto'si tapasvibhiḥ | te mūḍhāsto ṣayaṃti tvāṃ tattadrāgaparāyaṇāḥ
وبأيّ كلماتٍ جوفاء يُثني عليك الزهّاد، يا مغرور، فإن أولئك المخدوعين إنما يسعون لإرضائك، إذ هم أسرى لهذا التعلّق أو ذاك.
Unknown (Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative voice; admonitory speech within Kedāra context)
Tirtha: Kedāra/Kedāranātha
Type: kshetra
Scene: A group of ascetics offer exaggerated praise to a deva; their faces show craving and factional attachment; the true ascetic ideal is implied by a silent figure near the liṅga, detached and steady.
FAQs
Flattery—even from ‘ascetics’—can be driven by attachment; spiritual life requires sincerity and freedom from rāga.
Kedāra is the backdrop, but this verse addresses inner ethics rather than a site’s merit.
None; it critiques motivations behind praise and religious posturing.