Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 129
तांश्च सेवेद्विशेषेण शास्त्रं येषां हि विद्यते । असतां दर्शनस्पर्शसंजल्पासनभोजनैः
tāṃśca sevedviśeṣeṇa śāstraṃ yeṣāṃ hi vidyate | asatāṃ darśanasparśasaṃjalpāsanabhojanaiḥ
Serve such people with special care—those who truly possess the śāstras. For by seeing, touching, conversing with, sitting with, and eating with the wicked, one becomes tainted.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) addressing the sages (deduced)
Scene: A pilgrim-scholar respectfully serving a śāstra-knowing elder, while in the background a group of coarse men invite him to sit and eat; the pilgrim turns away, symbolizing avoidance of contaminating company.
FAQs
Honor and serve the truly scriptural and righteous; avoid intimate association with the unethical, as it degrades one’s purity.
No specific holy site is mentioned; the guidance supports pilgrim-dharma by stressing purity of association.
An implicit purity rule is given: avoid sharing close contact and meals with the wicked; prioritize service to the learned.