Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 33
आधिपत्यमदमोहितं हितं शंसितं स्पृशति नो हरेर्हितम् । दुर्जनविहिततीर्थमज्जनैः शुद्धधीरिव विरुद्धमानसम्
ādhipatyamadamohitaṃ hitaṃ śaṃsitaṃ spṛśati no harerhitam | durjanavihitatīrthamajjanaiḥ śuddhadhīriva viruddhamānasam
আধিপত্যের গর্বে মোহিত জনকে মঙ্গলকর উপদেশ, যতই সুন্দরভাবে বলা হোক, স্পর্শ করে না; হরিপ্রিয় কল্যাণও সে গ্রহণ করে না। যেমন দুষ্টজন-নির্মিত ‘তীর্থে’ স্নানে শুদ্ধবুদ্ধির মনও বিপরীত হয়ে যায়, তেমনি তার অন্তঃকরণ বিকৃত হয়।
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogues, commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (implied standard of authentic tīrtha) vs ‘duṛjana-vihita-tīrtha’ (counterfeit)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sages/pilgrim audience
Scene: An allegorical scene: a proud ruler ignores a sage’s counsel; nearby, a deceptive ‘tīrtha’ is shown—murky waters with a wicked officiant—contrasted with a luminous true ghāṭa where sincere pilgrims bathe with folded hands.
FAQs
Pride blocks receptivity to dharmic counsel; discernment is essential—outer acts (even ‘pilgrimage’) without purity can mislead.
No single named site; rather, it warns against ‘false tīrthas’ and implies the need to seek authentic sacred geography as taught in Kāśī-khaṇḍa.
It references tīrtha-majjana (bathing at a pilgrimage place) to stress that ritual must be paired with right intent and right place.