Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 75
चिरंतनो मुनिः स स्याज्जरयातिसमावृतः । तं प्रार्थय द्रुतं गत्वा तस्यास्थीनि गुरूणि च
ciraṃtano muniḥ sa syājjarayātisamāvṛtaḥ | taṃ prārthaya drutaṃ gatvā tasyāsthīni gurūṇi ca
C’est un muni très ancien, tout enveloppé du fardeau de la vieillesse. Va vite le supplier ; demande aussi ses os puissants.
Narrative context (pre-Sūta line); likely a divine adviser addressing Śakra (Indra)
Tirtha: Puṣkara
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śakra/Indra (Hari addressed in prior verse translation; here the instruction continues)
Scene: A messenger-god or Indra is instructed to hurry to an extremely aged rishi, bent with years, whose very bones are described as ‘mighty’—hinting at spiritual potency condensed into the body.
FAQs
True dharma may require humble supplication and recognizing the power of a sage’s tapas and self-sacrifice for the welfare of the worlds.
The larger episode belongs to the Puṣkara–Sarasvatī tīrtha setting in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya.
No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the instruction is to approach and petition the sage, foreshadowing a dharmic act of offering.