Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 22
सोऽहं दुरात्मा पापीयान्स्वैरचारी मदोत्कटः । दंडधारी दुराचारः प्रचंडो निर्घृणः खलः
so'haṃ durātmā pāpīyānsvairacārī madotkaṭaḥ | daṃḍadhārī durācāraḥ pracaṃḍo nirghṛṇaḥ khalaḥ
ನಾನು ಅಂಥ ದುರಾತ್ಮ—ಅತಿಪಾಪಿ, ಸ್ವೈರಚಾರಿ, ಮದದಿಂದ ಉನ್ಮತ್ತ; ದಂಡಧಾರಿ ದುರುಚಾರ, ಪ್ರಚಂಡ, ನಿರ್ಘೃಣ, ಖಲನು.
Rākṣasa
Listener: Vāmadeva
Scene: A stark moral portrait: the rākṣasa describes himself as staff-wielding oppressor—visualize him with a heavy daṇḍa lowered in shame, surrounded by faint silhouettes of frightened beings, while the sage’s calm presence offers a path out.
FAQs
Adharma is marked by arrogance, cruelty, and abuse of power; naming one’s faults truthfully is the first step toward purification.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse is a moral self-assessment.
None; the focus is on ethical diagnosis rather than ritual instruction.