Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6
ईश्वर उवाच । डिंडि रूपः पुरा देवि भूत्वाऽहं दारुके वने । ऋषीणामाश्रमे पुण्ये नग्नो भिक्षाचरोऽभवम् । भिक्षंतमाश्रमे दृष्ट्वा ताः सर्वा ऋषियोषितः
īśvara uvāca | ḍiṃḍi rūpaḥ purā devi bhūtvā'haṃ dāruke vane | ṛṣīṇāmāśrame puṇye nagno bhikṣācaro'bhavam | bhikṣaṃtamāśrame dṛṣṭvā tāḥ sarvā ṛṣiyoṣitaḥ
ಈಶ್ವರನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ಹೇ ದೇವಿ, ಪುರಾಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ಡಿಂಡಿ ರೂಪವನ್ನು ಧರಿಸಿ ದಾರುಕ ವನಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋದೆ. ಋಷಿಗಳ ಪುಣ್ಯ ಆಶ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ನಗ್ನ ಭಿಕ್ಷುಕನಾಗಿ ಭಿಕ್ಷೆ ಯಾಚಿಸಿದೆ; ಆಶ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಿಕ್ಷೆ ಬೇಡುವ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಕಂಡು ಎಲ್ಲ ಋಷಿಪತ್ನಿಯರೂ ಗಮನಿಸಿದರು.
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (narrative frame) / Dārukāvana episode locus
Type: kshetra
Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)
Scene: Śiva, disguised as a naked ash-smeared mendicant with matted locks, enters a serene sages’ hermitage in a forest; startled yet fascinated sages’ wives notice him as he begs for alms.
FAQs
External appearance can provoke attachment or aversion; true dharma is tested in how one responds—with restraint, discernment, and purity.
The narrative points to Dārukavana/Devadāruvana-linked sacred geography that underlies the Prabhāsa Kṣetra Māhātmya’s shrine-origins.
None; it begins an origin story explaining later events (anger, curse, and liṅga-pātana).