Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 57
श्मशानस्तंभ येनाहं दत्ता तुभ्यं कृतंत्वाय । इह कंदफलाहारैर्यत्किं तेन न पूर्यते
śmaśānastaṃbha yenāhaṃ dattā tubhyaṃ kṛtaṃtvāya | iha kaṃdaphalāhārairyatkiṃ tena na pūryate
ಯಾವ ಶ್ಮಶಾನಸ್ತಂಭದ ಮೂಲಕ ನಾನು ನಿನಗೆ ಕೃತಾಂತನಿಗಾಗಿ ಅರ್ಪಿತಳಾದೆನೋ, ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂದಮೂಲ-ಫಲಾಹಾರದಿಂದ ಜೀವಿಸುವವರಿಗೆ ಅವನು ಯಾವುದು ಪೂರ್ಣಗೊಳಿಸದೆ ಉಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾನೆ?
Ruci
Type: kshetra
Scene: A tense dialogue in a cremation-ground hermitage: a woman speaks with sharp restraint, pointing to a cremation-ground post; ascetics nearby subsist on roots and fruits; ash, skull motifs, and a boundary-stake dominate the foreground.
FAQs
Austerity without mutual consent can become a source of conflict; dharma in household life requires compassion and shared resolve.
No tīrtha is praised here; the verse references a śmaśāna setting as part of the narrative background.
No formal rite; it mentions an austere diet of roots and fruits, indicating a life of hardship/ascetic constraint.