Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 15
स्कंद उवाच । न कौलीन्यं न सद्वृत्तं महत्त्वाय प्रकल्पते । एकमेव पदं श्रेयः पदभ्रंशो हि लाघवम्
skaṃda uvāca | na kaulīnyaṃ na sadvṛttaṃ mahattvāya prakalpate | ekameva padaṃ śreyaḥ padabhraṃśo hi lāghavam
স্কন্দ বললেন—শুধু কুলীনতা বা শুধু সদাচারই মহত্ত্ব নিশ্চিত করে না। কল্যাণপথে একটিমাত্র দৃঢ় পদক্ষেপই শ্রেয়; আর পদচ্যুতি নিঃসন্দেহে লঘুতা।
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: Skanda as teacher—youthful, radiant, spear in hand yet serene—addressing listeners with calm authority; behind him, Kāśī’s ghats and a Śiva-liṅga motif suggesting dharmic anchoring.
FAQs
Greatness is protected by steadfast dharma, not by pedigree; even one genuine step in righteousness outweighs status without stability.
The instruction is embedded in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī setting, emphasizing Kāśī as a seat of dharma-teaching rather than naming a single tīrtha.
None; it is a moral injunction about maintaining one’s dharmic ‘position’ without falling into lowness.