Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21
मतिमद्भ्यो नराः श्रेष्ठास्तेभ्यः श्रेष्ठास्तु वाडवाः । विप्रेभ्योपि च विद्वांसो विद्वद्भ्यः कृतबुद्धयः
matimadbhyo narāḥ śreṣṭhāstebhyaḥ śreṣṭhāstu vāḍavāḥ | viprebhyopi ca vidvāṃso vidvadbhyaḥ kṛtabuddhayaḥ
ومن بين ذوي العقل، البشر أرفع؛ وأرفع منهم أهل الانضباط والتهذيب. وحتى بين البراهمة، العلماء أعلى منزلة؛ وأعلى من العلماء من كملت بصيرتهم وثبت فهمهم.
Skanda
Tirtha: Avimukta-kṣetra (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Kumbhaja (Agastya)
Scene: A sequence of figures on a Kāśī ghāṭ: an ordinary intelligent person, a disciplined ascetic/student, a brāhmaṇa scholar with texts, a learned teacher expounding, and finally a silent realized one with steady gaze—each more luminous than the last.
FAQs
True greatness is measured by discipline, learning, and perfected understanding—not merely by birth or social designation.
Kāśī is the implied context; the verse clarifies the inner qualifications that harmonize with a mokṣa-kṣetra.
No explicit ritual; it recommends cultivation of discipline and kṛta-buddhi (mature, steady discernment).