Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 33
यस्मिन्विप्राः संवसंति मूर्तानीव तपांसि च । चतुराशीतिसाहस्राः श्रुताध्ययनशालिनः
yasminviprāḥ saṃvasaṃti mūrtānīva tapāṃsi ca | caturāśītisāhasrāḥ śrutādhyayanaśālinaḥ
त्या स्थानी विप्र निवास करितात—जणू तपश्चर्या मूर्तिमंतच; ते चौर्याऐंशी हजार, श्रुती-ज्ञान व वेदाध्ययनाने समृद्ध आहेत।
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa), contextual attribution within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narration
Type: kshetra
Scene: A vast sacred settlement where countless Brahmins appear as living embodiments of austerity—calm faces, matted hair or neatly tied śikhā, holding palm-leaf manuscripts, reciting Veda in orderly groups.
FAQs
A holy place is defined by living dharma—communities of tapas and śruti-study become the true ‘mūrti’ of sanctity.
Kalāpa-grāma is being praised as a settlement of extraordinary Vedic and ascetic excellence.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse extols śruti-study and tapas as defining virtues.