Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 92
मंत्रिहीनं यथा राज्यं श्रुतिहीना यथा द्विजाः । योषा हीनं यथा सौख्यं शिवहीना तथा क्रिया
maṃtrihīnaṃ yathā rājyaṃ śrutihīnā yathā dvijāḥ | yoṣā hīnaṃ yathā saukhyaṃ śivahīnā tathā kriyā
Comme un royaume est défectueux sans ministres, comme les deux-fois-nés sont défectueux sans l’enseignement sacré, et comme la joie est défectueuse sans épouse, ainsi tout rite est défectueux sans Śiva.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: Three analogies depicted: a king without ministers in a dim court; a dvija without śruti holding an unopened palm-leaf; a household lacking conjugal harmony—then a pilgrim’s rite without Śiva shown as incomplete, contrasted with a bright Śiva shrine completing it.
FAQs
Just as governance and life require essential supports, religious action requires Śiva as its indispensable foundation.
Kāśī is the implied setting where Śiva’s indispensability (as Viśveśvara) is doctrinally emphasized.
No single rite is specified; the instruction is to align all kriyā with Śiva and Vedic (śruti) grounding.