Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 85
अन्धक उवाच । नाहं बिभेमि रुद्रस्य तथान्यस्यापि कस्यचित् । न स्त्रीणां प्रहरिष्यामि पालयन्पुरुषव्रतम्
andhaka uvāca | nāhaṃ bibhemi rudrasya tathānyasyāpi kasyacit | na strīṇāṃ prahariṣyāmi pālayanpuruṣavratam
അന്ധകൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഞാൻ രുദ്രനെ ഭയപ്പെടുന്നില്ല; മറ്റാരെയും കൂടെ അല്ല. പുരുഷധർമ്മവ്രതം പാലിച്ച് ഞാൻ സ്ത്രീകളെ പ്രഹരിക്കുകയില്ല।
Andhaka
Scene: Andhaka, a powerful daitya, stands with chest lifted and weapon at rest, declaring fearlessness of Rudra; beside him attendants watch, while an unseen divine presence looms as moral counterweight.
FAQs
Even when framed as ‘honor,’ pride and denial of divine reality become spiritual blindness; dharma without humility can turn into delusion.
No holy site is named; the verse is character dialogue within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative.
A vrata is mentioned—puruṣa-vrata (code of honor)—as an ethical restraint, not a ritual observance like snāna or dāna.