Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 60
आरभ्य पंचमाद्वर्षात्परस्वस्यापहारकः । अभूदेष दुराचारो दुरोदरपरायणः
ārabhya paṃcamādvarṣātparasvasyāpahārakaḥ | abhūdeṣa durācāro durodaraparāyaṇaḥ
അഞ്ചാം വയസ്സുമുതൽ അവൻ മറ്റുള്ളവരുടെ ധനം കവർന്നുതുടങ്ങി; ഈ മനുഷ്യൻ ദുഷ്ചരിത്രനായും ചൂതാട്ടത്തിൽ ആസക്തനായും മാറി।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka-ādi ṛṣis (frame)
Scene: A child growing into a youth stealing goods; a gambling scene with dice, tense faces, and the shadow of Kali-like influence behind.
FAQs
It identifies theft and gambling as early-rooted vices that corrode dharma and propel a person toward suffering.
Kāśī is the overarching sacred setting of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, though this verse is primarily moral narration.
None; this verse functions as a moral diagnosis rather than a ritual instruction.