Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 39
पूयं चिकित्सकस्यान्नं पुंश्चल्यास्त्वन्नमिन्द्रियम् । विष्ठा वार्धुषिकस्यान्नं शस्त्रविक्रयिणो मलम्
pūyaṃ cikitsakasyānnaṃ puṃścalyāstvannamindriyam | viṣṭhā vārdhuṣikasyānnaṃ śastravikrayiṇo malam
La nourriture du médecin est semblable au pus; la nourriture de la prostituée est semblable à la chute des sens (indriya); la nourriture de l’usurier est semblable aux excréments; et la nourriture du marchand d’armes est semblable aux souillures.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A stark allegory: four bowls labeled by profession transform into symbolic substances—pus, a broken sense-organ motif, excrement, and grime—while a pilgrim recoils and a sage points toward a pure offering (milk/fruits) before Somnātha.
FAQs
Livelihood and morality ‘flavor’ food; dharma warns that food tied to harmful trades or passions can pollute mind and destiny.
Prabhāsakṣetra, where the Māhātmya teaches discipline suited to a sacred pilgrimage environment.
It discourages accepting food from certain professions by expressing their karmic taint through strong metaphors.