Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 19
स्त्री बालघातका ये च ये च विश्वासघातकाः । असत्यहिंसानिरता सदा पापरताश्च ये
strī bālaghātakā ye ca ye ca viśvāsaghātakāḥ | asatyahiṃsāniratā sadā pāparatāśca ye
Os que matam mulheres e crianças, os que traem a confiança; os devotados à falsidade e à violência, e os que sempre se deleitam no pecado—também eles são incluídos.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (Gaṅgā-sannidhi)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A moral panorama: figures symbolizing betrayal, violence, and habitual sin, contrasted with the steady presence of Gaṅgā and the possibility of ritual uplift at Kāśī’s ghāṭas.
FAQs
The text underscores the gravity of adharma (violence, betrayal, falsehood) while preparing the reader for the Purāṇic assurance that sacred rites, properly done, can aid even severely afflicted departed beings.
Kāśī, in connection with the Uttaravāhinī flow of Gaṅgā, which the chapter soon exalts as uniquely purifying.
The ritual details are developed in subsequent verses: tarpaṇa with Gaṅgā water, śrāddha, and piṇḍa-dāna.