Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 110
इत्थं द्विजेंद्र निजभृत्यगणान्सदैव संशिक्षयेदवनिगान्स हि धर्मराजः । अन्येपि ये हरिहरांकधरा धरायां ते दूरतः पुनरहो परिवर्जनीयाः
itthaṃ dvijeṃdra nijabhṛtyagaṇānsadaiva saṃśikṣayedavanigānsa hi dharmarājaḥ | anyepi ye hariharāṃkadharā dharāyāṃ te dūrataḥ punaraho parivarjanīyāḥ
Thus, O best of Brahmins, Dharmarāja (Yama) continually instructs his own attendants. And those others on earth who merely bear the outward marks of Hari and Hara—alas—are to be avoided from afar if their conduct is impure.
Skanda (deduced; addressing a Brahmin listener within Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame)
Tirtha: Kāśī (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Dvijendra (‘O best of Brahmins’ explicitly addressed)
Scene: Dharmarāja instructs Yamadūtas in a stern yet just court; in a contrasting vignette, pretenders wearing sectarian marks are shown being avoided/flagged from afar due to impure conduct.
FAQs
Outer religious symbols are not substitutes for righteous conduct; dharma is proven by character, not costume.
The verse sits within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-centered teaching, emphasizing the moral standards expected in a liberation-giving sacred city.
No specific rite; it prescribes ethical discernment—avoiding association with those who misuse sacred emblems.