Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 56
गणाः पश्यत दुर्वृत्तैः प्रारब्धानां च कर्मणाम् । अनीश्वरैरवस्थेयं कुतो द्वेषो महेश्वरे
gaṇāḥ paśyata durvṛttaiḥ prārabdhānāṃ ca karmaṇām | anīśvarairavastheyaṃ kuto dveṣo maheśvare
ഹേ ഗണങ്ങളേ, നോക്കുവിൻ—ദുർവൃത്തർ ആരംഭിച്ച കർമ്മങ്ങളുടെ ഫലം ഇങ്ങനെ തന്നെ നിർബ്ബലാവസ്ഥ വരുത്തുന്നു. യഥാർത്ഥ അധിപത്യമില്ലാത്തവരുടെ ഗതി ഇതായാൽ, മഹേശ്വരനോടു ദ്വേഷം എങ്ങനെ?
Vīrabhadra
Listener: Ṛṣis (frame assumed)
Scene: Vīrabhadra addresses the gaṇas like a teacher-general: pointing to the ruined enclosure as proof of karma’s recoil and the folly of hating Maheśvara.
FAQs
Karma ripens inevitably; blaming Śiva is ignorance—Maheśvara stands as the higher order beyond petty resentment.
The teaching is embedded in the Kāśī-centered Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where Śiva’s lordship is upheld as the theological axis of the sacred city.
No ritual instruction; it is a doctrinal admonition about karma and devotion rather than ceremony.