Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 43
नारण्यसंश्रयाद्योगो न नानाग्रंथ चिंतनात् । न दानैर्न व्रतैर्वापि न तपोभिर्न वा मखैः
nāraṇyasaṃśrayādyogo na nānāgraṃtha ciṃtanāt | na dānairna vratairvāpi na tapobhirna vā makhaiḥ
Yoga tidak tercapai hanya dengan berlindung di rimba, dan bukan juga dengan merenung banyak kitab. Ia tidak diperoleh melalui sedekah, melalui vrata (nazar suci), melalui tapa, ataupun melalui yajña (korban suci).
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrims/seekers (contextual)
Scene: Contrasting vignettes: a hermit in a forest, a scholar surrounded by many books, a donor at a ritual, an ascetic in austerity, and a sacrificer at a fire—each shown as incomplete; central figure turns inward in meditation, indicating the true attainment of yoga.
FAQs
External renunciation, scholarship, and ritual merit are insufficient by themselves; yoga requires inner transformation.
Within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame, the teaching supports Kāśī’s reputation as a place where inner realization is paramount.
It explicitly states that dāna, vrata, tapas, and yajña alone do not confer yoga-siddhi.