Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 21
ऋषीणां षष्टिसाहस्रं कुरुक्षेत्रनिवासिनाम् । ये च वैखानसा विप्रा दन्तोलूखलिनस्तथा
ṛṣīṇāṃ ṣaṣṭisāhasraṃ kurukṣetranivāsinām | ye ca vaikhānasā viprā dantolūkhalinastathā
کوروکشیتر میں رہنے والے ساٹھ ہزار رشی تھے۔ ویکھانَس برہمن بھی تھے، اور وہ سخت ریاضت والے بھی جو اپنے ہی دانتوں سے کوٹے ہوئے اناج پر گزارا کرتے تھے۔
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; likely Sūta-style narration within Āvantya Khaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Kurukṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A vast sacred plain with many hermitages; ranks of sages sit in disciplined rows. Vaikhānasa brāhmaṇas with deer-skins and ladles; extreme ascetics (dantolūkhalin) appear gaunt, chewing grains with their teeth as ‘mortars’.
FAQs
In times of distress, even great ascetics gather and act collectively, guided by dharma and the counsel of the wise.
Kurukṣetra is named as the sages’ residence; the broader passage soon redirects attention to Revā/Narmadā’s sacred bank.
No direct prescription; it describes communities of tapasvins (Vaikhānasa, severe ascetics).