Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 57
स्वदेहाशुचिगंधेन न विरज्यति यो नरः । विरागे कारणं तस्य किमन्यदु पदिश्यते
svadehāśucigaṃdhena na virajyati yo naraḥ | virāge kāraṇaṃ tasya kimanyadu padiśyate
സ്വദേഹത്തിലെ അശുചിയുടെ ദുർഗന്ധം കൊണ്ടുപോലും വിരക്തിയില്ലാത്ത മനുഷ്യനോട്, വൈരാഗ്യത്തിനായി മറ്റെന്ത് കാരണമാണു ഉപദേശിക്കേണ്ടത്?
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)
Scene: A teacher indicates a person recoiling from the stench of a soiled garment/body, while another remains indifferent—illustrating the rhetorical question: if this doesn’t produce detachment, what will?
FAQs
A basic awareness of bodily impurity should awaken detachment; if it does not, deeper instruction becomes difficult.
None; the emphasis is psychological and ethical rather than tīrtha-māhātmya.
No ritual is given; the verse stresses inner response (vairāgya) rather than outward acts.