Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 57
स्वदेहाशुचिगंधेन न विरज्यति यो नरः । विरागे कारणं तस्य किमन्यदु पदिश्यते
svadehāśucigaṃdhena na virajyati yo naraḥ | virāge kāraṇaṃ tasya kimanyadu padiśyate
If a man does not become dispassionate even from the foul odor of his own body’s impurity, what other cause for detachment could possibly be taught to him?
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)
Scene: A teacher indicates a person recoiling from the stench of a soiled garment/body, while another remains indifferent—illustrating the rhetorical question: if this doesn’t produce detachment, what will?
FAQs
A basic awareness of bodily impurity should awaken detachment; if it does not, deeper instruction becomes difficult.
None; the emphasis is psychological and ethical rather than tīrtha-māhātmya.
No ritual is given; the verse stresses inner response (vairāgya) rather than outward acts.