Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 45
सा कथा यत्र ते नाम तन्मनो यत्त्वदर्पितम् । तत्कर्म यत्त्वदर्थं वै तत्तपो यद्भवत्स्मृतिः
sā kathā yatra te nāma tanmano yattvadarpitam | tatkarma yattvadarthaṃ vai tattapo yadbhavatsmṛtiḥ
That alone is sacred discourse wherein Your Name is spoken; that alone is the mind when it is offered to You. That alone is action when done for Your sake; that alone is austerity when it is remembrance of You.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (general teaching within Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A devotee in Kāśī sits near a ghat, reciting the Lord’s names; the mind is shown as a lotus offered at the deity’s feet; daily actions—giving, serving, and austerity—are depicted as offerings to Viṣṇu.
FAQs
True discourse, action, and austerity are defined by dedication to and remembrance of Bhagavān—especially through His Name.
The teaching occurs in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa context, aligning the merit of devotion with the sanctity of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), even when the verse itself is not naming a specific ghāṭa or tīrtha.
No external rite is prescribed; the verse elevates nāma-kathā (speaking the Name) and smṛti (remembrance) as the core religious practice.