Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21
यत्र क्षपणका एव दृश्यंते मलधारिणः । प्रायो मधुव्रता एव यत्र चंचलवृत्तयः
yatra kṣapaṇakā eva dṛśyaṃte maladhāriṇaḥ | prāyo madhuvratā eva yatra caṃcalavṛttayaḥ
तेथे तपाचे लक्षण धारण करणारे, मलधारी खरे क्षपणकच दिसतात; आणि ज्यांची वृत्ती चंचल आहे ते बहुतेक ‘मधुव्रत’—भ्रमरासारखे अस्थिर स्वभावाचे—असतात।
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Two contrasting groups on a Kāśī lane: steadfast kṣapaṇakas with austere marks and calm gaze; nearby, ‘madhuvrata’-like wanderers flit from shrine to shrine, distracted, like bees around flowers.
FAQs
The sacred ideal is steadiness and genuine austerity; fickleness is criticized as superficial wandering without inner discipline.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), depicted as a place where authentic ascetic life is visible and valued.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the focus is on authentic tapas and stable conduct.