Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 2
वैदिकं कर्म चोत्सृज्य कथं सेश्वरतां व्रजेत् । तदुच्यतां महाविष्णो येन धर्मः प्रतिष्ठितः
vaidikaṃ karma cotsṛjya kathaṃ seśvaratāṃ vrajet | taducyatāṃ mahāviṣṇo yena dharmaḥ pratiṣṭhitaḥ
വൈദിക കർമങ്ങൾ ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് എങ്ങനെ ഈശ്വരകേന്ദ്രിത മാർഗം പ്രാപിക്കാം? ഹേ മഹാവിഷ്ണോ! ധർമ്മം ദൃഢമായി സ്ഥാപിതമാകുന്ന ഉപായം അരുളുക.
Dakṣa
Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedārakṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Dakṣa, anxious about the collapse of Vedic order, asks Viṣṇu for a principle that secures dharma even if ritual forms are questioned; the moment is earnest and didactic.
FAQs
Dharma is not arbitrary; it seeks a firm foundation, traditionally tied to Veda and to a Lord-centered orientation.
Kedāra Khaṇḍa frames the teaching in the Kedārakṣetra milieu, but this verse itself is a philosophical query.
Vaidika-karma (Vedic ritual duties) is referenced as the contested practice; no specific rite is prescribed in this line.