Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 27
केचिच्च भग्नपात्रास्ते भग्नदं ण्डास्तथापरे । प्रनष्टाश्च विवस्त्रास्ते वीतरागमिति ब्रुवन्
kecicca bhagnapātrāste bhagnadaṃ ṇḍāstathāpare | pranaṣṭāśca vivastrāste vītarāgamiti bruvan
केचिद् भग्नभिक्षापात्रा आसन्, केचिद् भग्नदण्डा अपरे। केचिद् प्रनष्टा विवस्त्राश्च, तथापि “वितरागाः स्मः” इति ब्रुवन्ति।
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa relating the episode)
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Scene: A group of distressed mendicant-like figures with broken bowls and snapped staffs, some half-clothed, proclaiming ‘vītarāga’ amid a forest clearing; contrast between their words and their agitation.
FAQs
Outer marks of renunciation can collapse, but true detachment is tested by conduct and humility, not slogans.
The Dharmāraṇya (Dharma-forest) setting is being developed as a māhātmya context, emphasizing the sanctity of the region where dharma is examined.
No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse critiques appearances and emphasizes inner vairāgya.