Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 53
देवतायतनं विप्रं धेनुं मधु मृदं तथा । जातिवृद्धं वयोवृद्धं विद्यावृद्धं तथैव च
devatāyatanaṃ vipraṃ dhenuṃ madhu mṛdaṃ tathā | jātivṛddhaṃ vayovṛddhaṃ vidyāvṛddhaṃ tathaiva ca
พึงนอบน้อมด้วยความเคารพต่อเทวสถาน แก่พราหมณ์ แก่โค และต่อไปยังน้ำผึ้งกับดินศักดิ์สิทธิ์; อีกทั้งพึงเคารพผู้สูงศักดิ์ด้วยชาติกำเนิด ผู้สูงวัย และผู้เจริญด้วยวิทยาเช่นกัน
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the assembled sages (deduced from Brāhma Khaṇḍa narrative style)
Scene: A pilgrim approaches a small shrine, folds hands to the deity, offers respectful salutations to an elderly learned brāhmaṇa seated nearby, gently feeds a cow, and touches sacred earth with reverence; a small vessel of honey is kept among offerings.
FAQs
Dharma is upheld through reverence—honoring sacred institutions (temples), sacred beings (brāhmaṇas, cows), and those worthy of respect by lineage, age, and learning.
This verse is primarily a dharma-instruction within the Dharmāraṇya context rather than a direct praise of a named tīrtha in the verse itself.
No single rite is prescribed; the instruction is ethical-ritual conduct (ācāra): offering honor and proper regard to temples, brāhmaṇas, cows, and venerable persons.