Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 57
ये द्विषंति महादेवं सर्वकर्मैकसाक्षिणम् । धर्मकार्ये प्रवृत्तास्तु ते प्राप्स्यंतीदृशं दशाम्
ye dviṣaṃti mahādevaṃ sarvakarmaikasākṣiṇam | dharmakārye pravṛttāstu te prāpsyaṃtīdṛśaṃ daśām
«Diejenigen, die Mahādeva hassen — den einen Zeugen aller Taten —, werden, selbst wenn sie sich dem Anschein nach in Werken des Dharma betätigen, einen Zustand wie diesen erlangen.»
Vīrabhadra
Listener: Ṛṣis (frame assumed)
Scene: Vīrabhadra’s warning intensifies: he gestures toward the heavens, invoking Mahādeva as omniscient Witness, while the gaṇas absorb the moral gravity.
FAQs
Outer righteousness cannot compensate for inner hostility to the Divine; dharma must be rooted in reverence for Mahādeva.
The verse belongs to the Kāśī Khanda’s spiritual map, where devotion to Śiva is the defining principle of Kāśī’s holiness.
None directly; it sets a devotional prerequisite for dharmic activity rather than prescribing a specific rite.