Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77
प्राप्य काशीं त्यजेद्यस्तु समस्ताघौघनाशिनीम् । नृपशुः स परिज्ञेयो महासौख्यपराङमुखः
prāpya kāśīṃ tyajedyastu samastāghaughanāśinīm | nṛpaśuḥ sa parijñeyo mahāsaukhyaparāṅamukhaḥ
しかし、あらゆる罪の奔流を滅するカーシーに到りながら、なお彼女を捨てる者は、「王の獣」と知るべし――無上の安楽に背を向ける者である。
Skanda (contextual attribution for Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogues)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A pilgrim at the ghats turning away from Kāśī’s skyline and Viśveśvara’s spire; the text’s ‘nṛpaśu’ (royal beast) is conveyed symbolically—crown-like headgear with animal shadow—contrasted with luminous path toward the temple.
FAQs
To reject a rare liberating opportunity—like life in Kāśī—is to turn away from the highest good.
Kāśī, explicitly praised as the destroyer of all accumulations of sin.
None directly; the instruction is practical-spiritual: do not abandon Kāśī after reaching it.