Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31
नायं कलानिधेर्दोषो द्विजराजस्य तस्य वै । हित्वा त्रिनेत्रं कामेन कस्य नो खडितं मनः
nāyaṃ kalānidherdoṣo dvijarājasya tasya vai | hitvā trinetraṃ kāmena kasya no khaḍitaṃ manaḥ
हा त्या कलानिधी, त्या द्विजराजाचा खरा दोष नाही; कारण कामाने त्रिनेत्र (शिव)लाही सोडल्यावर कोणाचे मन खंडित होऊन भरकटत नाही?
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogues, commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Vishveśvara-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sages/pilgrim audience
Scene: A contemplative tableau: the moon-lord (Soma) shown not as villain but as a being caught in kāma’s net; in the background, a subtle presence of Śiva (Trinetra) as the unmoved axis, emphasizing contrast between disturbance and stillness.
FAQs
Desire is a universal destabilizer; vigilance and dharmic restraint are needed even for the exalted.
None is specified in this line; it is reflective commentary within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa narrative.
No direct rite is prescribed; the verse offers moral-theological reflection on kāma.