Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 57
ये द्विषंति महादेवं सर्वकर्मैकसाक्षिणम् । धर्मकार्ये प्रवृत्तास्तु ते प्राप्स्यंतीदृशं दशाम्
ye dviṣaṃti mahādevaṃ sarvakarmaikasākṣiṇam | dharmakārye pravṛttāstu te prāpsyaṃtīdṛśaṃ daśām
«Aqueles que odeiam Mahādeva —a única Testemunha de todas as ações—, ainda que pareçam empenhados em obras de dharma, alcançarão uma condição como esta.»
Vīrabhadra
Listener: Ṛṣis (frame assumed)
Scene: Vīrabhadra’s warning intensifies: he gestures toward the heavens, invoking Mahādeva as omniscient Witness, while the gaṇas absorb the moral gravity.
FAQs
Outer righteousness cannot compensate for inner hostility to the Divine; dharma must be rooted in reverence for Mahādeva.
The verse belongs to the Kāśī Khanda’s spiritual map, where devotion to Śiva is the defining principle of Kāśī’s holiness.
None directly; it sets a devotional prerequisite for dharmic activity rather than prescribing a specific rite.