Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54
न चास्ति तव सामर्थ्यं क्वापि कस्यापि निश्चितम् । यादृशः क्रतुसंभारस्तव चेह समीक्ष्यते
na cāsti tava sāmarthyaṃ kvāpi kasyāpi niścitam | yādṛśaḥ kratusaṃbhārastava ceha samīkṣyate
Nirgends und in keiner Hinsicht gilt deine Befähigung als gewiss. Und doch erblickt man hier in dir eine großartige Zurüstung zu einem Kratu, dem vedischen Opfer, das sich entfaltet.
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa norm)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: A learned speaker admonishes a would-be sacrificer in Kāśī: lavish yajña materials—samit, ghee, vessels, banners—are displayed, yet the atmosphere is tense with ethical scrutiny.
FAQs
External grandeur in ritual is questioned when inner fitness and true capability are not firmly established.
The teaching belongs to the Kāśī-khaṇḍa framework, situating the discourse within the sacred authority of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), even when a specific tirtha-name is not stated in this verse.
No direct prescription—this verse introduces scrutiny of one’s preparedness for performing a kratu (Vedic sacrifice).