Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 150
स्मरात्मानं यदर्थं त्वमुत्पन्नोऽसि महेश्वरात् । साधूनां पालनार्थाय दुष्टसंहरणाय च । सुरविप्रकृते जन्म जीवितं च महात्मनाम्
smarātmānaṃ yadarthaṃ tvamutpanno'si maheśvarāt | sādhūnāṃ pālanārthāya duṣṭasaṃharaṇāya ca | suraviprakṛte janma jīvitaṃ ca mahātmanām
अपने प्रयोजन को स्मरण कर—तू महेश्वर से क्यों उत्पन्न हुआ है: साधुओं की रक्षा और दुष्टों के संहार के लिए। देवों और ब्राह्मणों के हित हेतु ही महात्माओं का जन्म और जीवन होता है।
Keśava (Viṣṇu)
Listener: Skanda (implied)
Scene: An elder deity/guide admonishes Skanda to remember his divine mandate: protect sādhus and destroy the wicked; the cosmic order (dharma) stands behind him like a standard.
FAQs
Incarnation and power are justified by service to dharma—protecting the good and restraining destructive forces.
No specific sacred geography is cited; the verse teaches the universal puranic mission of divine embodiment.
None; it is an ethical-theological reminder of duty (dharma) rather than a rite.