Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 191
स गत्वा मरुभूमिं तु म्लेच्छमध्ये ददर्श ह । कुष्ठरोगेण महता क्षयेण च समावृतम्
sa gatvā marubhūmiṃ tu mlecchamadhye dadarśa ha | kuṣṭharogeṇa mahatā kṣayeṇa ca samāvṛtam
അവൻ മരുഭൂമിയിലേക്കു ചെന്നു മ്ലേച്ഛരുടെ മദ്ധ്യേ അവനെ കണ്ടു. അവൻ ഭയങ്കര കുഷ്ഠരോഗത്താലും ക്ഷയരോഗത്താലും മൂടപ്പെട്ടിരുന്നു.
Narrator (contextual)
Tirtha: Marubhūmi (narrative locale; not a named tīrtha)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣi-assembly (implied)
Scene: The king arrives at a harsh desert edge and beholds his father among foreign tribes, body marked by severe leprosy and wasting; the horizon is empty and wind-swept.
FAQs
Seeing suffering directly awakens compassion and strengthens resolve to pursue dharma for another’s liberation.
No tīrtha is named; this verse provides the narrative crisis that leads to pilgrimage and sacred-place remedies.
None in this verse; it describes the condition that prompts the forthcoming action.