Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 58
सुचिरं नरकान्भुक्त्वा मदिरापानलंपटाः । मधुपा एव गायंते भ्रांतिभाजः पुनः पुनः
suciraṃ narakānbhuktvā madirāpānalaṃpaṭāḥ | madhupā eva gāyaṃte bhrāṃtibhājaḥ punaḥ punaḥ
Après avoir longtemps subi les enfers, ceux qui s’adonnent à la boisson enivrante renaissent en abeilles; et, encore et encore, ils « chantent », êtres voués à l’égarement.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A moral-vision scene: shadowy naraka imagery fades into a bright Kāśī garden where bees hum repetitively; the bees’ ‘song’ is portrayed as compulsive repetition, symbolizing delusion born of addiction.
FAQs
Addiction to intoxicants leads to heavy karmic consequences and deluded rebirth; dharma requires sobriety and self-control.
The broader Kāśī-kṣetra context frames this moral teaching as part of Kāśī’s dharmic instruction.
An implicit prohibition: avoid madirā (intoxicants); no positive rite (snāna/japa/dāna) is specified in this verse.