Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 67
कथं यूयं प्रवर्तध्वे विप्रा हिंसापरायणाः । तच्छ्रुत्वा वज्रतुल्यं हि वचनं च द्विजोत्तमाः
kathaṃ yūyaṃ pravartadhve viprā hiṃsāparāyaṇāḥ | tacchrutvā vajratulyaṃ hi vacanaṃ ca dvijottamāḥ
“اے وِپرَو، تم تشدد کے ارادے سے کیسے آگے بڑھتے ہو؟ وہ بجلی کے کڑکے جیسا کلام سن کر، دوِجوں میں افضل—”
The king (first half); narrator resumes (second half, leading into next verse)
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Listener: Brāhmaṇas (dvijottamāḥ)
Scene: The king confronts the brāhmaṇas with a piercing question; the brāhmaṇas recoil slightly, faces stunned, as if struck by a thunderbolt; the forest seems momentarily still.
FAQs
Dharma is judged by compassion; even revered groups are questioned when their actions contradict ahiṃsā.
Dharmāraṇya remains the sacred frame; the verse magnifies dharma-teaching rather than pilgrimage description.
No direct ritual; it is a corrective admonition against हिंसा as a religious practice.