Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 69
मध्ये मार्गं स गच्छन्वै लक्षितस्तु सकांचनः । अपि कार्पटिकांतस्थः स रुद्धो मार्गरोधिभिः
madhye mārgaṃ sa gacchanvai lakṣitastu sakāṃcanaḥ | api kārpaṭikāṃtasthaḥ sa ruddho mārgarodhibhiḥ
വഴിമധ്യേ യാത്ര ചെയ്യുമ്പോൾ അവന്റെ കൈവശം സ്വർണ്ണമുണ്ടെന്ന് അവർ മനസ്സിലാക്കി; ഒരു ഭിക്ഷുവിന്റെ വാസസ്ഥലത്തിന് അടുത്തായിരുന്നിട്ടും, കൊള്ളക്കാർ അവനെ തടഞ്ഞു.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Listener: Śaunaka and sages
Scene: On a dusty road, the traveler is spotted with a glint of gold; bandits emerge to block the path near a humble mendicant’s hut, creating a tense standoff.
FAQs
Attachment to wealth draws danger; once removed from the sheltering aura of dharma and sacred space, one becomes vulnerable to harm.
Kāśī is glorified by contrast: outside Kāśī, the traveller meets peril and obstruction.
None; it is a narrative depiction of karmic vulnerability tied to wealth and displacement.