Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 110
वृक्षांश्छित्त्वा पशून्हत्वा कृत्वा रुधिरकर्दमम । दग्ध्वा वह्नौ तिलाज्यादि चित्रं स्वर्गोऽभिलप्यते
vṛkṣāṃśchittvā paśūnhatvā kṛtvā rudhirakardamama | dagdhvā vahnau tilājyādi citraṃ svargo'bhilapyate
Après avoir abattu des arbres, tué des bêtes et fait une fange de sang—puis brûlé dans le feu sésame, ghee et autres—les gens, chose étrange, parlent du « ciel » comme d’un but.
Skanda (deduced; Kāśī-khaṇḍa often Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (frame)
Scene: A stark contrast scene: foreground shows felled trees, slain animals, and a blood-mire near a sacrificial fire; background shows people speaking of ‘svarga’ while a compassionate sage looks on in sorrow, pointing to the contradiction.
FAQs
Ritual claims cannot sanctify cruelty; violence done for ‘religious’ ends is condemned as spiritually incoherent.
The verse occurs within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa narrative frame, but it is a general ethical critique rather than a site-specific praise.
It references fire-offerings (tilājyādi in vahni) and implicitly warns against linking such offerings with harm to trees and animals.