Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 50
शरणागतं च विप्रं च रोगिणं वृद्धमेव च । यएतान्न च रक्षंति ते वै ब्रह्महणो नराः
śaraṇāgataṃ ca vipraṃ ca rogiṇaṃ vṛddhameva ca | yaetānna ca rakṣaṃti te vai brahmahaṇo narāḥ
Le suppliant en quête d’asile, le brāhmane, le malade et le vieillard—les hommes qui ne les protègent pas sont, en vérité, comptés parmi les meurtriers de Brahman (brahma-han).
Nārada (addressing Bali)
Tirtha: Kedāra / Kedāranātha
Type: kshetra
Scene: Nārada delivers a stern ethical warning, enumerating the vulnerable; Bali listens with sobered expression. The atmosphere is grave, as if dharma itself is being weighed in a sacred Himalayan court of conscience.
FAQs
Neglecting the vulnerable and the surrendered is treated as a grave sin; dharma requires active protection.
The verse is part of Kedārakhaṇḍa’s sacred narrative setting, but it primarily teaches social and spiritual duty rather than describing a tīrtha.
No ritual is stated; the ‘prescription’ is ethical conduct—rakṣaṇa (protection).