Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 37
निंदको नास्तिको वापि कूटसाक्ष्यप्रवादकः । अभक्ष्यभक्षको वापि तथाऽविक्रेय विक्रयी
niṃdako nāstiko vāpi kūṭasākṣyapravādakaḥ | abhakṣyabhakṣako vāpi tathā'vikreya vikrayī
Sama ada seseorang itu seorang pencela, seorang ateis, penyebar kesaksian palsu; atau pemakan yang haram, bahkan penjual sesuatu yang tidak patut sama sekali dijual—
Skanda (deduced: Kāśī Khaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A didactic tableau: figures representing slander, atheism, false witness, forbidden eating, and unethical trade stand at the threshold of Kāśī, confronted by the looming presence of a liṅga and the moral weight of their acts.
FAQs
It lists serious moral transgressions to set up a teaching on how sins may be addressed—while hinting that some offenses are uniquely dangerous.
The context is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, where dharma and expiation are discussed in relation to the sacred kṣetra.
No specific rite is stated in this verse; it functions as a catalogue of sins leading into the prāyaścitta teaching that follows.