Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 45
सा च जातिप्रकृत्यैव कृपणा दैन्यभागिनी । तासामुपरि मावज्ञा भवेदिति च वेधसा । शास्त्रेषूक्तमसंदिग्धं वाक्यमेतन्महात्फलम्
sā ca jātiprakṛtyaiva kṛpaṇā dainyabhāginī | tāsāmupari māvajñā bhavediti ca vedhasā | śāstreṣūktamasaṃdigdhaṃ vākyametanmahātphalam
ती (स्त्री) जन्मत: व स्वभावत:च दीन व कष्टभागिनी असते. म्हणून वेधस (विधाता) यांनी असे ठरविले आहे की अशा स्त्रियांचा अवमान होऊ नये. हे वचन शास्त्रांत निःसंदिग्ध सांगितले असून महाफलदायी आहे.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)
Listener: Nārada
Scene: A moral teaching tableau: the speaker warns against contempt; a vulnerable woman is shown being respectfully assisted (offered water/seat), contrasting with a figure turning away in disdain.
FAQs
Do not despise or belittle those who are socially or materially vulnerable; honoring śāstric compassion itself becomes a source of great merit (mahā-phala).
This verse is primarily a dharma-instruction (ethical śāstra-vākya) rather than a direct tīrtha-glorification; the broader Kaumārikākhaṇḍa context may connect it to a sacred narrative, but the verse itself does not name a site.
No specific ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed here; the injunction is moral—avoid avajñā (contempt) and follow the śāstric rule of respectful conduct.