Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 135
स्यादयं तं च भुंजानो रौरवस्य प्रियातिथिः । वाग्दण्डः कर्मदण्डश्च मनोदंडश्च ते त्रयः
syādayaṃ taṃ ca bhuṃjāno rauravasya priyātithiḥ | vāgdaṇḍaḥ karmadaṇḍaśca manodaṃḍaśca te trayaḥ
ಅಂತಹ ತಾಮಸ ಆಹಾರವನ್ನು ತಿನ್ನುವವನು ರೌರವ ನರಕದ ಪ್ರಿಯ ಅತಿಥಿಯಾಗುತ್ತಾನೆ. ವಾಗ್ದಂಡ, ಕರ್ಮದಂಡ ಮತ್ತು ಮನೋದಂಡ—ಇವು ಮೂರು ಸಂಯಮದ ದಂಡಗಳು.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Raurava
Type: kshetra
Scene: A split tableau: on one side, a person indulging in dulling food drifting toward a dark infernal realm labeled Raurava; on the other, an ascetic holding three symbolic staffs—speech, action, mind—standing firm in restraint.
FAQs
Lack of restraint—especially indulgence that produces dullness—leads to spiritual downfall, while true discipline is threefold: speech, action, and mind.
No tīrtha is praised; the verse focuses on moral consequence and ascetic discipline.
The ‘three staffs’ are prescribed as disciplines: vāgdaṇḍa (speech-control), karmadaṇḍa (conduct-control), and manodaṇḍa (mind-control).