Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 39
इति तद्वाक्यमाकर्ण्य ताराक्षस्तत्पितृव्यकः । धनलोभेन पिंगाक्षे पापं पापो व्यचिंतयत्
iti tadvākyamākarṇya tārākṣastatpitṛvyakaḥ | dhanalobhena piṃgākṣe pāpaṃ pāpo vyaciṃtayat
அந்த வார்த்தைகளைக் கேட்டு, அவனது சிறிய தந்தை தாராக்ஷன், செல்வத்தின் மீதான ஆசையினால், ஓ பிங்காக்ஷனே, அந்தப் பாவி ஒரு பாவச் செயலைச் செய்ய நினைத்தான்.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (Naimiṣāraṇya frame, typical)
Scene: A shadowed interior court in Kāśī: Tārākṣa listens, eyes narrowed with greed; behind him, chests of wealth and a dim oil-lamp; the victim and mendicants implied in the background as moral contrast.
FAQs
Greed (dhana-lobha) clouds discernment and becomes the seed of pāpa, leading one toward destructive choices.
The verse sits within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework (Kāśī/Varanasi), though this specific line focuses on character and karma rather than naming a tirtha.
None explicitly; the shloka is narrative and ethical, describing the arising of sinful intent.