Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 49
कथं स्वर्गो मुमुक्षा वा साध्यते दृषदा यथा । क्रोधो वा यदि संत्याज्यस्ततः शत्रुक्षयः कथम्
kathaṃ svargo mumukṣā vā sādhyate dṛṣadā yathā | krodho vā yadi saṃtyājyastataḥ śatrukṣayaḥ katham
ಸ್ವರ್ಗವಾಗಲಿ ಅಥವಾ ಮೋಕ್ಷಾಭಿಲಾಷೆಯಾಗಲಿ—ಕೇವಲ ಕಲ್ಲಿನಿಂದ ಸಾಧಿಸುವಂತೆ ಅದು ಹೇಗೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯ? ಮತ್ತು ಕ್ರೋಧವನ್ನು ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ತ್ಯಜಿಸಬೇಕಾದರೆ, ಶತ್ರುನಾಶ ಹೇಗೆ ಸಂಭವಿಸುತ್ತದೆ?
Unspecified questioner (prior to 'Bāla uvāca' in v.53; likely the listener raising doubts)
Listener: Youthful teacher (Kaumāra/Skanda-figure)
Scene: A warrior-seeker stands at a crossroads: one path to a luminous shrine (mokṣa), another to a battlefield; a calm teacher indicates a middle way—action without anger—while a dark red figure of Krodha tries to seize the warrior.
FAQs
It voices a common doubt: renouncing anger seems to conflict with worldly aims like overcoming adversaries.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse is part of a philosophical-ethical inquiry.
None; the focus is on the practical tension between inner virtue and worldly action.