Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 12
तत्स्वयं पुरुषो भूत्वा युधिष्ठिर वृथामते । प्रकृतिं नौषि नत्वा तां हासो मेऽतीव जायते
tatsvayaṃ puruṣo bhūtvā yudhiṣṭhira vṛthāmate | prakṛtiṃ nauṣi natvā tāṃ hāso me'tīva jāyate
इसलिए, हे युधिष्ठिर, तुम स्वयं पुरुष होकर भी—हे व्यर्थ बुद्धि वाले—प्रकृति को प्रणाम करके उसी की शरण लेते हो; यह मुझे अत्यन्त हँसाता है।
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced; Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative frame)
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: A stern yet compassionate teacher addresses Yudhiṣṭhira; the teacher’s expression carries controlled laughter at the philosophical mistake; Prakṛti is shown as an alluring but insentient figure, while Puruṣa is a calm luminous presence.
FAQs
It critiques misplaced surrender: consciousness should not submit to deluding nature, but should turn toward the divine and dharma-guided discernment.
No holy site is indicated in this verse.
None; it is a rebuke framed in Puruṣa–Prakṛti language.