Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 67
याचकाश्चावदान्याश्च नित्यं स्वज्ञानघातकाः । आत्मसंभाविताः स्तब्धाः परस्परविनिंदकाः
yācakāścāvadānyāśca nityaṃ svajñānaghātakāḥ | ātmasaṃbhāvitāḥ stabdhāḥ parasparaviniṃdakāḥ
“(وہ) سائل بھی بن گئے اور (جو) سخی کہلاتے تھے وہ بھی—ہمیشہ اپنی ہی سمجھ بوجھ کو برباد کرنے والے؛ خودپسند، غرور میں اکڑے ہوئے، اور ایک دوسرے کی مذمت کرنے والے۔”
Narrative voice (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa tradition)
Tirtha: Kedāra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Cursed cohort (sages and associated figures)
Scene: Once-venerable figures appear as quarrelsome mendicants and ostentatious donors: one hand extended in begging, another displaying gifts, while their faces show arrogance and mutual contempt.
FAQs
Pride and self-importance erode true knowledge, leading to mutual blame and spiritual decline.
The broader context is Kedāra/Kedārakhaṇḍa, connected with Kedarnath-region Śaiva sacred geography, though this verse itself is ethical in focus.
No explicit ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse; it describes a moral/spiritual consequence.