Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 93
अधर्मादेधते पूर्वं विद्वेष्टॄनपि संजयेत् । सर्वतोभद्रमाप्यापि ततो नश्येच्च सान्वयः
adharmādedhate pūrvaṃ vidveṣṭṝnapi saṃjayet | sarvatobhadramāpyāpi tato naśyecca sānvayaḥ
അധർമ്മത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ആദ്യം വളർച്ച തോന്നാം; വൈരികളെയും കീഴടക്കാം. എങ്കിലും ‘സർവതോഭദ്ര’ സമൃദ്ധി ലഭിച്ചിട്ടും അവസാനം അവൻ വംശസഹിതം നശിക്കുന്നു.
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A split-scene allegory: on one side, an arrogant man atop wealth and attendants; on the other, the same figure fallen, family line fading like extinguished lamps—set against Kāśī’s skyline to stress dharma over display.
FAQs
Unrighteous gains are unstable: adharma may look successful initially, but it culminates in ruin affecting even one’s family line.
The instruction belongs to Kāśī’s dharma-teaching context, where right living is emphasized as the true way to secure lasting merit.
No ritual is specified; it is a moral injunction to avoid adharma despite short-term advantages.