Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 56
विमुक्तरागद्वेषो यः कामक्रोधविवर्जितः । साग्निः सदारः स गृही वानप्रस्थाद्विशिष्यते
vimuktarāgadveṣo yaḥ kāmakrodhavivarjitaḥ | sāgniḥ sadāraḥ sa gṛhī vānaprasthādviśiṣyate
जो गृहस्थ राग-द्वेषमुक्त, काम-क्रोधरहित, यज्ञाग्नींचे पालन करणारा आणि पत्नीसमवेत राहणारा आहे—तो वानप्रस्थापेक्षाही श्रेष्ठ ठरतो.
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A serene householder tends the sacred fires (three agnis) in a courtyard, wife assisting; around them swirl personified rāga and dveṣa like fading smoke, while a forest hermit watches in respectful acknowledgment.
FAQs
Inner freedom from passions, while fulfilling household duties, is a high spiritual attainment—sometimes higher than external renunciation.
No single tīrtha is named; the verse supports Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s broader celebration of dharma in the sacred sphere of Kāśī.
Maintaining the sacred fires (sāgniḥ)—i.e., household yajña obligations—along with ethical self-mastery.