Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20
पितृदेवक्रतुकृते मधुपर्कार्थमेव च । तत्र हिंसाप्यहिंसा स्याद्धिंसान्यत्र सुदुस्तरा
pitṛdevakratukṛte madhuparkārthameva ca | tatra hiṃsāpyahiṃsā syāddhiṃsānyatra sudustarā
पितृकर्म, देवकर्म, यज्ञ आणि मधुपर्क अर्पणासाठी तेथील हिंसाही अहिंसा मानली जाते; पण अन्यत्रची हिंसा अत्यंत दुस्तर आहे।
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: On a Gaṅgā ghat, a householder performs śrāddha with piṇḍa and tarpaṇa; nearby, an honored guest is offered madhuparka in a ritualized setting; a contrasting shadow-scene shows senseless slaughter fading into darkness labeled ‘anyatra’.
FAQs
Dharma is contextual: acts may be judged differently when performed within sanctioned rites versus done for personal desire.
Kāśī is the overarching sacred geography of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa; this verse itself is primarily normative (ritual ethics).
It mentions pitṛ-kṛtya (ancestral rites), deva rites, kratu (sacrifice), and madhuparka offering as sanctioned contexts.