Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 7
प्रायः क्षत्रविशोरुक्ता गांधर्वासुरराक्षसाः । अष्टमस्त्वेष पापिष्ठः पापिष्ठानां च संभवेत्
prāyaḥ kṣatraviśoruktā gāṃdharvāsurarākṣasāḥ | aṣṭamastveṣa pāpiṣṭhaḥ pāpiṣṭhānāṃ ca saṃbhavet
Bentuk-bentuk perkahwinan yang dinamai Gāndharva, Āsura dan Rākṣasa kebanyakannya dinyatakan bagi Kṣatriya dan Vaiśya; namun jenis kelapan ini paling berdosa—bahkan timbul dalam kalangan yang paling jahat.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A didactic assembly in Kāśī: a sage-teacher enumerates marriage forms, with symbolic figures of Gāndharva, Āsura, and Rākṣasa unions shown as contrasting tableaux; the ‘eighth’ is depicted as dark, chaotic, and censured.
FAQs
Even within socially discussed marriage forms, dharma distinguishes what uplifts from what degrades; the most sinful union is to be rejected as a mark of moral decline.
The broader setting is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where dharma is taught as part of Kāśī’s sacred instruction, though this verse itself is normative rather than site-descriptive.
No specific tirtha-ritual is prescribed here; it classifies marriage forms and condemns the most sinful type.