Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17
प्रोक्तं न च त्वया देयः प्रवेशोऽत्र गृहे मम । भृत्यस्य भिक्षुकस्यैव वृद्धस्य व्रतिनस्तथा
proktaṃ na ca tvayā deyaḥ praveśo'tra gṛhe mama | bhṛtyasya bhikṣukasyaiva vṛddhasya vratinastathā
അവൻ കല്പിച്ചു—‘എന്റെ ഈ വീട്ടിൽ ആരെയും പ്രവേശിപ്പിക്കരുത്: ഭൃത്യനെയോ, ഭിക്ഷുക്കനെയോ, വൃദ്ധനെയോ, വ്രതസ്ഥ തപസ്വിയെയോ പോലും।’
Unknown (narrative voice; reporting the man’s instruction)
Listener: dvijasattamāḥ (addressed audience)
Scene: At the gate, a mendicant and an old man stand outside with begging bowl; the gatekeeper bars them; inside, the master’s command is implied; mood of moral shock.
FAQs
Refusing shelter to the vulnerable and to holy mendicants violates atithi-dharma; dharma honors guests, elders, and ascetics.
No tīrtha is named in this verse; it supports the broader Māhātmya’s ethical and narrative arc.
Implicitly the opposite of the command is upheld by dharma: welcoming guests and offering hospitality, but no explicit rite is stated.