Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10
ब्राह्मणा ऊचुः । निष्परिग्रहधर्माणो वानप्रस्था वयं द्विजाः । सद्यःप्रक्षालकाः किं नो राज्येन विभवेन च
brāhmaṇā ūcuḥ | niṣparigrahadharmāṇo vānaprasthā vayaṃ dvijāḥ | sadyaḥprakṣālakāḥ kiṃ no rājyena vibhavena ca
ब्राह्मणाः ऊचुः—वयं द्विजा वानप्रस्थाः, निष्परिग्रहधर्मपरायणाः। सद्यःप्रक्षालकाः स्मः; राज्येन विभवेन च अस्माकं किं प्रयोजनम्?
Brāhmaṇas (Vānaprasthas)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (typical frame; not explicit in the verse)
Scene: A group of vānaprastha brāhmaṇas—matted hair, bark garments, water-pot and staff—speak calmly to a king, declining royal gifts and splendor, emphasizing non-possession and immediate purification.
FAQs
Renunciation and inner purity outweigh material gifts; spiritual authority rests on non-attachment.
The teaching occurs within the Śaṃkhatīrtha narrative frame, reinforcing the tīrtha’s role in producing dharmic transformation.
Niṣparigraha (non-acceptance of possessions) and prompt purification are upheld as vānaprastha conduct, rather than accepting wealth.