Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 48
केचिल्लुञ्चितमूर्धानो जाल्मा भूत्वा वनेऽवसन् । दयाधर्मं ब्रुवाणाश्च निर्ग्रंथव्रतमास्थिताः
kecilluñcitamūrdhāno jālmā bhūtvā vane'vasan | dayādharmaṃ bruvāṇāśca nirgraṃthavratamāsthitāḥ
Ada yang kepalanya dicukur hingga botak, menjadi hina dan sengsara, lalu tinggal di rimba. Mereka berbicara tentang “belas kasih” dan “dharma”, namun mengamalkan ikrar (vrata) golongan Nirgrantha.
Narrator (Purāṇic narration within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya; speaker not explicit in the snippet)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: Defeated daityas with shorn heads, ragged and wretched, living in a forest hermitage; they preach compassion and dharma while adopting nirgrantha-like austerity, creating a tension between serene setting and moral dissonance.
FAQs
Outer renunciation and moral speech are not equal to inner purity; dharma is measured by conduct, not costume.
Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the aftermath of the divine victory is narrated within its māhātmya.
A ‘vrata’ (nirgrantha-vrata) is mentioned descriptively, not prescribed as an ideal practice here.