Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 80
त्वद्वाक्यतीक्ष्णधारेण कुठारेण क्षयं व्रजेत् । अपवर्गपथव्यापी मूढसंसर्गसेचनः
tvadvākyatīkṣṇadhāreṇa kuṭhāreṇa kṣayaṃ vrajet | apavargapathavyāpī mūḍhasaṃsargasecanaḥ
आपके वचनों की तीक्ष्ण धार वाले कुठार से, मूढ़ों की संगति से उपजा मेरी मूर्खता का सिंचन नष्ट हो जाए। इससे मोक्ष-पथ विस्तृत होकर मेरे सामने प्रशस्त हो।
Unspecified (within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context: likely a narrator voice in Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa-style narration, quoting a devotee/speaker)
Scene: A symbolic forest of weeds labeled ‘mūḍha-saṅga’ is being chopped by a radiant axe formed from the guru’s words; a clear road emerges leading toward a luminous gateway marked ‘apavarga’.
FAQs
A guru’s incisive instruction can destroy the habits and delusions nourished by bad company, opening the way to liberation.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the emphasis is ethical and soteriological (liberation through right guidance).
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the practice implied is seeking and accepting disciplined instruction (upadeśa) and avoiding misguided association.