Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 71
प्राणायामश्च तपसां मंत्राणां प्रणवो यथा । धर्माणामप्यहिंसा च काम्यानां श्रीर्यथा वरा
prāṇāyāmaśca tapasāṃ maṃtrāṇāṃ praṇavo yathā | dharmāṇāmapyahiṃsā ca kāmyānāṃ śrīryathā varā
தவங்களில் பிராணாயாமம் முதன்மை; மந்திரங்களில் பிரணவம் (ஓம்) முதன்மை; தர்மங்களில் அஹிம்சை முதன்மை; வேண்டிய வரங்களில் ஸ்ரீ சிறந்தது—அதுபோல இத்தீர்த்தமும் உயர்ந்தது।
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī tīrtha (Gaṅgā/Viśveśvara sphere, implied)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience
Scene: Four emblematic motifs—yogi in prāṇāyāma, glowing Oṃ, compassionate figure practicing ahiṃsā, and Lakṣmī/Śrī bestowing auspiciousness—converge toward the sacred tīrtha backdrop.
FAQs
Spiritual life has central pillars—discipline, sacred sound, and compassion—used here to frame the highest excellence of the sacred context.
Contextually, the Gaṅgā-tīrtha in Kāśī is being praised as ‘foremost’ like Oṃ among mantras.
Prāṇāyāma and reverence for Praṇava (Oṃ) are referenced as exemplary practices; ahiṃsā is upheld as a paramount dharma.