Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 89
बकवृत्तिरयं दुष्टो धर्मकंचुकमाश्रितः । हरते मां दुराचारस्तस्मात्त्वं त्राहि गालव
bakavṛttirayaṃ duṣṭo dharmakaṃcukamāśritaḥ | harate māṃ durācārastasmāttvaṃ trāhi gālava
She cried, “This wicked one follows the ‘crane’s conduct’—a hypocrite cloaked in the garb of dharma. The evil-doer is abducting me; therefore, O Gālava, protect me!”
Brāhmaṇī (the abducted woman, addressing the sage Gālava)
Listener: Gālava
Scene: The maiden points or gestures toward the abductor while addressing Gālava by name, denouncing the hypocrite; the abductor’s disguise contrasts with his violent act; the sage’s presence is implied as the moral axis.
FAQs
Hypocrisy—hiding wrongdoing under the cloak of dharma—is condemned, and dharma demands protection of the vulnerable.
No specific tīrtha is praised in this verse; it is an ethical-narrative warning within the larger purāṇic context.
None; the verse is a direct cry for protection and a denunciation of ‘dharma-cloaked’ misconduct.