Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 81
ते दृष्ट्वाऽदृष्टपूर्वं तं राजलक्षणलक्षितम् । धूलिधूसरितांगं च भस्मावृतमिवाचलम्
te dṛṣṭvā'dṛṣṭapūrvaṃ taṃ rājalakṣaṇalakṣitam | dhūlidhūsaritāṃgaṃ ca bhasmāvṛtamivācalam
त्याला—पूर्वी कधी न पाहिलेल्या—पाहून, राजलक्षणांनी युक्त, धुळीने धूसर झालेले अंग असलेला, जणू भस्माने आच्छादित पर्वत, असे त्यांना दिसले।
Sūta (narrative continuation implied)
Scene: Villagers/attendants behold a dust-greyed stranger whose bearing and auspicious royal marks contradict his travel-worn body; the contrast creates wonder at a sacred landscape’s edge.
FAQs
Outer status fades on the pilgrim-road; endurance and humility mark spiritual readiness more than royal splendor.
The scene occurs at the rishi-āśrama by the lake referenced earlier; this verse does not name the tīrtha.
No explicit ritual; the ash/dust imagery suggests austerity and the stripping away of ego as part of the pilgrim’s discipline.