Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 83
वेदस्मृतीतिहासेषु पुराणेषु प्रकल्पितम् । चतुःपादं तथा धर्मं नाचरत्यधमः पशुः
vedasmṛtītihāseṣu purāṇeṣu prakalpitam | catuḥpādaṃ tathā dharmaṃ nācaratyadhamaḥ paśuḥ
Jenen vierfüßigen Dharma, wie er in Veden, Smṛtis, Itihāsas und Purāṇas festgelegt ist, übt der Niedrigste, der tierhafte Mensch, nicht aus.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)
Scene: A didactic tableau: a seated ācārya pointing to palm-leaf śāstra; beside him a bull symbolizing four-legged dharma; in contrast, a man with animalistic shadow ignoring the teaching.
FAQs
Scriptures repeatedly establish dharma, yet one who refuses to live it is reduced to a merely instinct-driven life.
No tīrtha is specified; the verse frames dharma as universally taught across scriptural corpora.
No explicit rite; the prescription is ‘ācāra’—actual practice of dharma.