Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 57
श्मशानस्तंभ येनाहं दत्ता तुभ्यं कृतंत्वाय । इह कंदफलाहारैर्यत्किं तेन न पूर्यते
śmaśānastaṃbha yenāhaṃ dattā tubhyaṃ kṛtaṃtvāya | iha kaṃdaphalāhārairyatkiṃ tena na pūryate
जिस श्मशान-स्तम्भ के द्वारा मैं तुम्हें कृतान्त के लिए दी गई, यहाँ कन्द-मूल और फलाहार से रहने वालों का कौन-सा कार्य उसने पहले ही पूर्ण नहीं कर दिया?
Ruci
Type: kshetra
Scene: A tense dialogue in a cremation-ground hermitage: a woman speaks with sharp restraint, pointing to a cremation-ground post; ascetics nearby subsist on roots and fruits; ash, skull motifs, and a boundary-stake dominate the foreground.
FAQs
Austerity without mutual consent can become a source of conflict; dharma in household life requires compassion and shared resolve.
No tīrtha is praised here; the verse references a śmaśāna setting as part of the narrative background.
No formal rite; it mentions an austere diet of roots and fruits, indicating a life of hardship/ascetic constraint.