Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 50
दक्षिणापथमध्ये वै ग्रामो बाष्कलसंज्ञितः । तत्र संति जनाः सर्वे मूढाः कर्मविवर्जिताः
dakṣiṇāpathamadhye vai grāmo bāṣkalasaṃjñitaḥ | tatra saṃti janāḥ sarve mūḍhāḥ karmavivarjitāḥ
Di tengah wilayah selatan (Dakṣiṇāpatha) ada sebuah kampung bernama Bāṣkala. Di sana semua orang terpedaya dan meninggalkan kewajiban amal-dharma yang sepatutnya.
Narrator of the Brahmottarakhaṇḍa (contextual Purāṇic narrator)
Tirtha: Bāṣkala-grāma
Type: kshetra
Scene: A dusty southern village: farmers and armed men in the streets, neglected shrines, a sense of moral confusion; the narrator’s voice overlays the scene as a moral map of decline.
FAQs
A narrative setting is established to contrast adharma with the transforming power of sacred teaching.
No tīrtha is praised here; a geographic locale (Dakṣiṇāpatha, village Bāṣkala) is introduced for the story.
None; it is descriptive groundwork for the ensuing itihāsa.