Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 73
ततस्तु प्रातरुत्थाय कृत्वांत्यजमयं वपुः । शोधयामास कृच्छ्रेण मलोत्सर्गनिकेतनम्
tatastu prātarutthāya kṛtvāṃtyajamayaṃ vapuḥ | śodhayāmāsa kṛcchreṇa malotsarganiketanam
Dann stand er früh am Morgen auf und nahm einen Leib an wie der eines Cāṇḍāla; mühsam begann er, den Ort zu reinigen, der zur Entsorgung von Unrat bestimmt war.
Sūta (narration)
Type: kshetra
Scene: At dawn, Devaśarmā (or the ‘lord of the earth’ in later verse) appears in an outcaste-like guise, scrubbing a foul place with effort—an image of radical humility and purification.
FAQs
Dharma may require radical humility; sincere effort and service can become a form of inner purification.
No named tīrtha appears in this verse; the tīrtha-māhātmya frame continues through the king’s transformative conduct.
Not a formal rite; the act described functions as a severe self-discipline akin to prāyaścitta (expiatory effort).