Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 136
एतेन पयसा विद्मो दुर्जनः सुजनो यथा । केचिद्रक्तनदीनां च तीरेष्वास्तिक्यबुद्धयः
etena payasā vidmo durjanaḥ sujano yathā | kecidraktanadīnāṃ ca tīreṣvāstikyabuddhayaḥ
“ಈ ‘ಪಾನ’ದಿಂದಲೇ ದುರ್ಜನ ಯಾರು, ಸುಜನ ಯಾರು ಎಂದು ನಾವು ತಿಳಿಯುತ್ತೇವೆ.” ಕೆಲವರು ಆಸ್ತಿಕಬುದ್ಧಿಯಿಂದ ರಕ್ತನದಿಗಳ ತೀರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಂತರು.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa context)
Scene: A horrific landscape with streams like rivers of blood; on their banks stand a few calm, pious-minded figures—hands folded, eyes lowered—while others nearby revel or recoil, making the moral contrast visible.
FAQs
Conduct reveals character: even in dreadful circumstances, the virtuous retain faith and restraint while the wicked revel in impurity.
No named tirtha appears; “rivers of blood” is metaphorical/narrative imagery.
None explicitly, though it hints at ‘āstikya’ (pious disposition) as a dharmic ideal.