Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 43
नारण्यसंश्रयाद्योगो न नानाग्रंथ चिंतनात् । न दानैर्न व्रतैर्वापि न तपोभिर्न वा मखैः
nāraṇyasaṃśrayādyogo na nānāgraṃtha ciṃtanāt | na dānairna vratairvāpi na tapobhirna vā makhaiḥ
വനം ആശ്രയിച്ചതുകൊണ്ടു മാത്രം യോഗം ലഭിക്കില്ല; പല ഗ്രന്ഥങ്ങൾ ചിന്തിച്ചതുകൊണ്ടും അല്ല. ദാനം, വ്രതം, തപസ്സ്, യാഗം—ഇവകൊണ്ടും മാത്രം യോഗം സിദ്ധിക്കില്ല.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrims/seekers (contextual)
Scene: Contrasting vignettes: a hermit in a forest, a scholar surrounded by many books, a donor at a ritual, an ascetic in austerity, and a sacrificer at a fire—each shown as incomplete; central figure turns inward in meditation, indicating the true attainment of yoga.
FAQs
External renunciation, scholarship, and ritual merit are insufficient by themselves; yoga requires inner transformation.
Within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame, the teaching supports Kāśī’s reputation as a place where inner realization is paramount.
It explicitly states that dāna, vrata, tapas, and yajña alone do not confer yoga-siddhi.