Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 64
निर्विकारौ करौ दृष्ट्वा शुद्धो भवति धर्मतः । भयाद्वा पातयेद्यस्तु तदधो वा विभाव्यते
nirvikārau karau dṛṣṭvā śuddho bhavati dharmataḥ | bhayādvā pātayedyastu tadadho vā vibhāvyate
ಪರಿಶೀಲನೆಗೆ ಕೈಗಳು ನಿರ್ವಿಕಾರ (ಅಕ್ಷತ)ವಾಗಿ ಕಂಡರೆ, ಧರ್ಮತಃ ಅವನು ಶುದ್ಧನೆಂದು ಗಣ್ಯನು. ಆದರೆ ಭಯದಿಂದ ಅದನ್ನು ಕೆಳಗೆ ಬೀಳಿಸಿದರೆ, ಅವನು ಅದರಿಂದಲೇ ಅಧಃ (ದೋಷಿ/ಪತಿತ) ಎಂದು ಭಾವ್ಯನು।
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)
Scene: Priests inspect the practitioner’s hands—unblemished palms signify purification; alternatively, a moment of fear where the object is dropped prematurely, with onlookers reacting and the verdict implied.
FAQs
Dharma evaluates purity through steadiness and truthfulness; fear-driven evasion is treated as moral failure.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is on dharma-based ritual adjudication.
A purity determination by observing whether the hands remain uninjured; dropping the object out of fear implies guilt.