Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55
न तादृङ्नेदसि प्रायः क्वापि ज्ञातो महामते । क्रतुस्तु नैव कर्तव्यो नास्ति क्रतुसमो रिपुः
na tādṛṅnedasi prāyaḥ kvāpi jñāto mahāmate | kratustu naiva kartavyo nāsti kratusamo ripuḥ
Ô grand d’esprit, un tel fondement est à peine connu nulle part. Aussi ne faut-il pas entreprendre un kratu : nul ennemi n’égale le sacrifice lorsqu’il est accompli sans les justes conditions.
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa norm)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: A sage warns: ‘No enemy equals a sacrifice’—the yajña ground appears formidable, with shadows suggesting the dangers of error; the patron’s confidence softens into humility.
FAQs
Ritual power is not automatically auspicious; when performed without qualification and right order, it can become spiritually harmful.
The instruction is embedded in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s sacred milieu, implying Kāśī’s dharmic authority rather than naming a particular tirtha in this line.
A negative injunction: do not perform a kratu unless the true prerequisites are present.