Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 45
सा च जातिप्रकृत्यैव कृपणा दैन्यभागिनी । तासामुपरि मावज्ञा भवेदिति च वेधसा । शास्त्रेषूक्तमसंदिग्धं वाक्यमेतन्महात्फलम्
sā ca jātiprakṛtyaiva kṛpaṇā dainyabhāginī | tāsāmupari māvajñā bhavediti ca vedhasā | śāstreṣūktamasaṃdigdhaṃ vākyametanmahātphalam
“By her very birth and natural condition she is poor and a sharer in hardship. Therefore the Ordainer (Brahmā) has laid down that no contempt should be shown toward such women. This statement is taught in the śāstras without doubt, and it yields great spiritual fruit.”
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)
Listener: Nārada
Scene: A moral teaching tableau: the speaker warns against contempt; a vulnerable woman is shown being respectfully assisted (offered water/seat), contrasting with a figure turning away in disdain.
FAQs
Do not despise or belittle those who are socially or materially vulnerable; honoring śāstric compassion itself becomes a source of great merit (mahā-phala).
This verse is primarily a dharma-instruction (ethical śāstra-vākya) rather than a direct tīrtha-glorification; the broader Kaumārikākhaṇḍa context may connect it to a sacred narrative, but the verse itself does not name a site.
No specific ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed here; the injunction is moral—avoid avajñā (contempt) and follow the śāstric rule of respectful conduct.