Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 5
नाज्ञातं तस्य किंचिच्च यद्धर्मेषु प्रकीर्त्यते । सर्वेषां च सुहृन्नित्यं सर्वेषां च हिते रतः
nājñātaṃ tasya kiṃcicca yaddharmeṣu prakīrtyate | sarveṣāṃ ca suhṛnnityaṃ sarveṣāṃ ca hite rataḥ
ധർമ്മത്തെക്കുറിച്ച് പ്രസിദ്ധമായ ഒന്നും അവനോട് അജ്ഞാതമായിരുന്നില്ല. അവൻ സദാ എല്ലാവർക്കും സുഹൃത്ത്, എല്ലാവരുടെ ഹിതത്തിൽ നിരതൻ ആയിരുന്നു.
Nārada (context continuation)
Tirtha: Kapileśvara/Nandabhadra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pārtha
Scene: The merchant is shown assisting travelers, feeding the poor, speaking kindly, and offering guidance—his dharma-knowledge expressed as universal friendship; the liṅga shrine stands in the background as the moral center.
FAQs
True dharma is both knowledge and benevolence: learning must mature into universal friendship and active welfare.
Indirectly Bahūdaka, by portraying the saintly life fostered around its Śiva worship.
No specific rite is prescribed; the verse emphasizes ethical conduct and universal well-wishing.