Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 38
तपस्विनां परीक्षायै यदृषीणां विहिंसनम् । कृतं तेन तदा विप्रा रावणेन तपस्विना
tapasvināṃ parīkṣāyai yadṛṣīṇāṃ vihiṃsanam | kṛtaṃ tena tadā viprā rāvaṇena tapasvinā
Wahai para brāhmaṇa, segala kecederaan yang ketika itu ditimpakan kepada para ṛṣi dilakukan oleh Rāvaṇa sang pertapa, sebagai “ujian” terhadap tapa para insan suci.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Kedāra (ethical frame for pilgrims)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Viprāḥ/Brāhmaṇas explicitly addressed in verse
Scene: Rāvaṇa, though an ascetic by practice, injures sages under the pretext of ‘testing’ them; the scene carries moral gravity—sages in distress, dharma violated.
FAQs
Austerity without compassion can become a pretext for adharma; true tapas protects, it does not harm.
Kedārakhaṇḍa’s broader setting is the Kedāra region, but this verse focuses on conduct toward sages rather than a particular tīrtha.
None; the verse narrates an ethical issue (violence justified as ‘testing’).