Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54
विवासिताः स्वविषयात्तेन सन्मतिदायिनः । धर्माधिकारिणः शूद्रा ब्राह्मणाः करदीकृताः
vivāsitāḥ svaviṣayāttena sanmatidāyinaḥ | dharmādhikāriṇaḥ śūdrā brāhmaṇāḥ karadīkṛtāḥ
Oleh dia, para penasihat bijaksana yang memberi nasihat mulia dihalau dari wilayah mereka sendiri; kaum Śūdra dijadikan pemegang kuasa dalam urusan Dharma, dan para Brāhmaṇa direndahkan menjadi rakyat pembayar ufti.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Scene: A dark court scene: a tyrannical ruler on a high throne; wise ministers and counselors being driven out; brāhmaṇas forced to pay tribute; social order visibly inverted, with anxious citizens and ominous sky tones.
FAQs
When rulers overturn dharma and dishonor the wise and the Brāhmaṇas, society falls into disorder and spiritual decline.
The wider narrative belongs to Kāśī-Māhātmya (Kāśī/Varanasi), setting the moral background for the king’s later encounter with the sacred forest of Kāśī.
No direct rite is prescribed in this verse; it establishes adharma as the cause leading toward later sacred intervention in Kāśī.