Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77
असमर्च्य च यो भुङ्क्ते पत्रपुष्पफलैरपि । रेतोभक्षी भवेन्मूढः स जन्मान्येकविंशतिम्
asamarcya ca yo bhuṅkte patrapuṣpaphalairapi | retobhakṣī bhavenmūḍhaḥ sa janmānyekaviṃśatim
जो पूजा किए बिना पत्ते, फूल और फल मात्र भी खाता है, वह मूढ़ इक्कीस जन्मों तक ‘रेतोभक्षी’ बनता है।
Śiva (Īśvara)
Tirtha: Kāśī-Avimukta (arcana-niyama)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (typical)
Scene: A warning tableau: a proud ascetic eats forest fare without worship; a stern divine presence indicates karmic consequence across births, emphasizing the gravity of neglecting arcana.
FAQs
Ascetic diet alone is not purity; without worship and offering, even “simple” food becomes spiritually blameworthy.
The warning is delivered within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī milieu, reinforcing Kāśī’s devotional culture centered on Śiva-arcana.
Do not eat without first performing worship/arcana (and implicitly offering) to the deity.