Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 25
आत्मरक्षात्र कर्तव्या महाश्रेयोभिवृद्धये । अत्रात्म त्यजनोपायं मनसापि न चिंतयेत्
ātmarakṣātra kartavyā mahāśreyobhivṛddhaye | atrātma tyajanopāyaṃ manasāpi na ciṃtayet
ইয়াত (কাশীত) মহাশ্ৰেয়স বৃদ্ধি কৰিবলৈ আত্ম-ৰক্ষা কৰা উচিত। ইয়াত দেহ ত্যাগ (আত্মবিনাশ) কৰাৰ কোনো উপায় মনতেও চিন্তা নকৰিবা।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages
Scene: A compassionate teacher gestures ‘do not’ as a pilgrim stands at a ghat edge; Viśvanātha temple rises behind, signaling that Kāśī’s grace supports life-affirming dharma.
FAQs
Kāśī’s path to the highest good requires preserving life and rejecting self-harm, even in thought.
Kāśī, framed as a sacred field where life is to be protected for spiritual flourishing.
A moral prescription: practice self-protection and do not consider any act intended to abandon the body.