Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 32
क्षतात्संत्राणनात्क्षत्रं तत्क्वास्मिन्प्रलयप्रिये । वैश्योपि न भवेदेष सदा निर्धनचेष्टनः
kṣatātsaṃtrāṇanātkṣatraṃ tatkvāsminpralayapriye | vaiśyopi na bhavedeṣa sadā nirdhanaceṣṭanaḥ
ਘਾਇਲਾਂ ਦੀ ਰੱਖਿਆ ਕਰਨ ਤੋਂ ‘ਕਸ਼ਤ੍ਰ’ ਨਾਮ ਹੈ—ਪਰ ਪ੍ਰਲਯ-ਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਇਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਉਹ ਕਿੱਥੇ? ਇਹ ਵੈਸ਼ਯ ਵੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੋ ਸਕਦਾ, ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਇਹ ਸਦਾ ਨਿਰਧਨ ਵਾਂਗ ਵਰਤਦਾ ਹੈ।
Dakṣa (as reported in Skanda’s narration)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A didactic tableau: on one side, a king protects the wounded (kṣatra definition); on the other, Śiva as Kāla stands serene amid symbols of dissolution; below, a simple ascetic with no possessions contrasts with merchant wealth—showing the Lord beyond all.
FAQs
When ego argues from social definitions, it misreads divine functions; dharma requires reverence and discernment, not contempt.
No specific tīrtha is mentioned; the verse belongs to the Kāśī Māhātmya corpus that frames such teachings within Kāśī’s sanctity.
None.