Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 73
आत्मा च सततं पुत्र रक्षितव्यः प्रयत्नतः । सर्वेभ्यः श्वापदेभ्यश्च म्लेच्छेभ्यस्तस्करादितः
ātmā ca satataṃ putra rakṣitavyaḥ prayatnataḥ | sarvebhyaḥ śvāpadebhyaśca mlecchebhyastaskarāditaḥ
ਅਤੇ, ਹੇ ਪੁੱਤਰ, ਤੂੰ ਸਦਾ ਯਤਨ ਨਾਲ ਆਪਣੇ ਆਪ ਦੀ ਰੱਖਿਆ ਕਰੀਂ—ਸਭ ਜੰਗਲੀ ਪਸ਼ੂਆਂ ਤੋਂ, ਅਤੇ ਮਲੇਛਾਂ, ਚੋਰਾਂ ਆਦਿ ਵੈਰੀਆਂ ਤੋਂ ਵੀ।
Mother (unnamed, within Pulastya’s narration)
Tirtha: Arbuda (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Purāṇic audience; within story, an elder addressing 'putra'
Scene: A parent/elder instructs a son before a forest journey: gestures toward lurking beasts and distant figures of thieves; the pilgrim holds a staff and water-pot.
FAQs
Dharma includes prudent self-protection; vigilance is a duty when traveling or living in risky places.
No particular tīrtha is mentioned; the verse supports the travel-and-forest narrative atmosphere typical of the Arbuda Khaṇḍa.
None; it is practical counsel rather than a ritual injunction.