Skandapurana 3.2.41.24

3.2.41.24

23 atha kadāciddānavaiḥ saha yuddhe parājitairdevairbrahmāṇaṃ prati gamanam, tato brahmājñayā
sarvaidevairdharmāraṇyaṃ pratyāgatya sahasrābdaparyataṃ satrāraṃbhaṇam, tatra satre vividhapakvānna-
bhojanapradānena brāhmaṇānāṃ saṃtarpaṇam, tato dharmāraṇye dānaprabhāvātprāptabalairde-
vairdaityānāṃ vadhaṃ kṛtvā svargaṃ prati gamanavarṇanam, atha kadācillohāsurākhyenā-
sureṇa dharmāraṇyaṃ pratyāgatya tannivāsināṃ brāhmaṇānāṃ vaṇijāṃ cātyaṃtopadravakara-
ṇam, tadbhayatrastaistatratyairbrāhmaṇairvaṇigbhiśca kāṃdiśikībhūya yatastato nirgatya śūdrai-
rdvijaiścaikībhūya dharmāraṇyānnātidūre śambhugrāme nivāsakaraṇam, vaṇigbhiścāṃḍāla-
jādisvasvamukhyavaṇiṅnāmanirmitagrāmeṣu nivāsakaraṇam, teṣāṃ vaṇijāṃ moheti-
saṃjñākāraṇakathanam, tenaiva kāraṇena tatratyānāṃ vaṇijāṃ jñātibhedavarṇanam, evaṃ
lohāsureṇa dharmāraṇyasyodvāsakaraṇapūrvakaṃ svasthānaṃ prati gamanavarṇanam. ... 139 2

23. Now, the gods, having once been defeated in battle by the Dānavas, went to Brahmā; then, by Brahmā's command, all the gods returned to Dharmāraṇya and began a sacrificial session lasting a thousand years; there, in that sacrificial session, they gratified the brahmins by offering food consisting of various cooked dishes; then, in Dharmāraṇya, having gained strength through the power of giving gifts, the gods killed the Daityas and went to heaven; now once, an Asura named Lohāsura came to Dharmāraṇya and caused immense distress to the resident brahmins and merchants; terrified by fear of him, the local brahmins and merchants scattered in panic in every direction, and having united with śūdras and dvijas, took up residence in Śambhugrāma, not very far from Dharmāraṇya; and the merchants took up residence in villages named after their respective merchant chiefs, such as Aṇḍālaja and others; the explanation of the reason for the name 'Moha' for those merchants; for that very reason, the description of the division of castes among the local merchants; thus the description of Lohāsura's depopulation of Dharmāraṇya and his return to his own abode. 139 2