Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 110
इत्थं द्विजेंद्र निजभृत्यगणान्सदैव संशिक्षयेदवनिगान्स हि धर्मराजः । अन्येपि ये हरिहरांकधरा धरायां ते दूरतः पुनरहो परिवर्जनीयाः
itthaṃ dvijeṃdra nijabhṛtyagaṇānsadaiva saṃśikṣayedavanigānsa hi dharmarājaḥ | anyepi ye hariharāṃkadharā dharāyāṃ te dūrataḥ punaraho parivarjanīyāḥ
এইদৰে, হে শ্ৰেষ্ঠ দ্বিজ, ধৰ্মৰাজ যমে সদায় নিজৰ ভৃত্যগণক শিক্ষা দিয়ে। আৰু পৃথিৱীত যিসকলে কেৱল হৰি-হৰৰ বাহ্য চিহ্ন ধৰে, তেওঁলোক (আচৰণ অশুদ্ধ হ’লে) দূৰৰ পৰা পৰিহাৰ্য।
Skanda (deduced; addressing a Brahmin listener within Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame)
Tirtha: Kāśī (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Dvijendra (‘O best of Brahmins’ explicitly addressed)
Scene: Dharmarāja instructs Yamadūtas in a stern yet just court; in a contrasting vignette, pretenders wearing sectarian marks are shown being avoided/flagged from afar due to impure conduct.
FAQs
Outer religious symbols are not substitutes for righteous conduct; dharma is proven by character, not costume.
The verse sits within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-centered teaching, emphasizing the moral standards expected in a liberation-giving sacred city.
No specific rite; it prescribes ethical discernment—avoiding association with those who misuse sacred emblems.