Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 110
नाद्रीणां न समुद्राणां न द्रुमाणां महीयसाम् । भूतधात्र्यास्तथा भारो यथा स्वामिद्रुहां महान्
nādrīṇāṃ na samudrāṇāṃ na drumāṇāṃ mahīyasām | bhūtadhātryāstathā bhāro yathā svāmidruhāṃ mahān
Neither mountains, nor oceans, nor mighty trees weigh upon the Earth, the sustainer of beings, as heavily as the great burden of those who betray their own Lord.
Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context)
Scene: Bhūdevī (Earth) personified, steady yet strained, while mountains, oceans, and great trees appear light; a dark, oppressive shadow labeled ‘svāmi-droha’ presses upon her, contrasted with a small lamp of dharma.
FAQs
Betraying one’s rightful lord or benefactor is a severe adharma, portrayed as an unbearable moral weight upon the world.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is an ethical maxim within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative.
None; the verse teaches moral restraint and fidelity as dharma.