Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 98
न हिंसा सदृशं पापं त्रैलोक्ये सचराचरे । हिंसको नरकं गच्छेत्स्वर्गं गच्छेदहिंसकः
na hiṃsā sadṛśaṃ pāpaṃ trailokye sacarācare | hiṃsako narakaṃ gacchetsvargaṃ gacchedahiṃsakaḥ
तीनों लोकों में, चर-अचर समस्त प्राणियों के बीच, हिंसा के समान कोई पाप नहीं। हिंसक नरक को जाता है, और अहिंसक स्वर्ग को प्राप्त होता है।
Skanda (deduced; Kāśī-khaṇḍa often Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis of Naimiṣāraṇya (typical frame)
Scene: A dharma-teaching scene in Kāśī: a sage instructs pilgrims on the ghāṭ; on one side, a figure refrains from harming animals and ascends toward light; on the other, a violent figure falls toward a dark abyss—symbolic svarga/naraka imagery.
FAQs
Non-violence (ahiṃsā) is upheld as a supreme dharma; violence leads to grave spiritual downfall.
The verse is situated in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa context, where Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is the overarching sacred geography, though this specific line is a general dharma-teaching.
No specific rite is prescribed; the instruction is ethical—avoid hiṃsā to gain auspicious fruit.