Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 48
केचिल्लुञ्चितमूर्धानो जाल्मा भूत्वा वनेऽवसन् । दयाधर्मं ब्रुवाणाश्च निर्ग्रंथव्रतमास्थिताः
kecilluñcitamūrdhāno jālmā bhūtvā vane'vasan | dayādharmaṃ bruvāṇāśca nirgraṃthavratamāsthitāḥ
ചിലർ തല മുണ്ഡനം ചെയ്ത് ദയനീയരായി വനത്തിൽ പാർത്തു; ‘ദയ’ ‘ധർമ്മം’ എന്നു പ്രസംഗിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് നിർഗ്രന്ഥരുടെ വ്രതം സ്വീകരിച്ചു.
Narrator (Purāṇic narration within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya; speaker not explicit in the snippet)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: Defeated daityas with shorn heads, ragged and wretched, living in a forest hermitage; they preach compassion and dharma while adopting nirgrantha-like austerity, creating a tension between serene setting and moral dissonance.
FAQs
Outer renunciation and moral speech are not equal to inner purity; dharma is measured by conduct, not costume.
Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the aftermath of the divine victory is narrated within its māhātmya.
A ‘vrata’ (nirgrantha-vrata) is mentioned descriptively, not prescribed as an ideal practice here.