Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 83
वेदस्मृतीतिहासेषु पुराणेषु प्रकल्पितम् । चतुःपादं तथा धर्मं नाचरत्यधमः पशुः
vedasmṛtītihāseṣu purāṇeṣu prakalpitam | catuḥpādaṃ tathā dharmaṃ nācaratyadhamaḥ paśuḥ
वेदस्मृत्यितिहासपुराणेषु यः चतुष्पादो धर्मः प्रकल्पितः, तं धर्मं अधमो पशुवत् नरः नाचरति।
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)
Scene: A didactic tableau: a seated ācārya pointing to palm-leaf śāstra; beside him a bull symbolizing four-legged dharma; in contrast, a man with animalistic shadow ignoring the teaching.
FAQs
Scriptures repeatedly establish dharma, yet one who refuses to live it is reduced to a merely instinct-driven life.
No tīrtha is specified; the verse frames dharma as universally taught across scriptural corpora.
No explicit rite; the prescription is ‘ācāra’—actual practice of dharma.