Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 56
गणाः पश्यत दुर्वृत्तैः प्रारब्धानां च कर्मणाम् । अनीश्वरैरवस्थेयं कुतो द्वेषो महेश्वरे
gaṇāḥ paśyata durvṛttaiḥ prārabdhānāṃ ca karmaṇām | anīśvarairavastheyaṃ kuto dveṣo maheśvare
«يا معشرَ الغَنا، انظروا: بأيدي ذوي السوء، الأعمالُ التي شُرِع فيها من قبل تُفضي إلى حالٍ من العجز كهذه. فإذا كان هذا مآلَ من لا سيادةَ له حقًّا، فكيف يُوجَّه البغضُ إلى ماهيشڤرا؟»
Vīrabhadra
Listener: Ṛṣis (frame assumed)
Scene: Vīrabhadra addresses the gaṇas like a teacher-general: pointing to the ruined enclosure as proof of karma’s recoil and the folly of hating Maheśvara.
FAQs
Karma ripens inevitably; blaming Śiva is ignorance—Maheśvara stands as the higher order beyond petty resentment.
The teaching is embedded in the Kāśī-centered Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where Śiva’s lordship is upheld as the theological axis of the sacred city.
No ritual instruction; it is a doctrinal admonition about karma and devotion rather than ceremony.