Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54
वरमेतेश्वापदा वै मैत्रावरुणि सेवया । येषां न हिंसने बुद्धिर्नतु हिंसापरा नराः
varameteśvāpadā vai maitrāvaruṇi sevayā | yeṣāṃ na hiṃsane buddhirnatu hiṃsāparā narāḥ
ஓ மைத்ராவருணி! சேவிக்கத் தகுதியானவர்கள் இக்காட்டுமிருகங்களே மேல்; இவற்றின் மனம் வன்முறையில் நிலைபெறாது, வன்முறைக்கே அர்ப்பணித்த மனிதர்கள் அல்ல.
Skanda (explicitly inferred by vocative address to Maitrāvaruṇi = Agastya; consistent with Kāśīkhaṇḍa framing)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Maitrāvaruṇi
Scene: A teacher addresses Maitrāvaruṇi, pointing to wild beasts living without a mind to harm, contrasted with violent men; the scene is a moral mirror held up to society in Kāśī.
FAQs
Intention matters: beings without a will to harm are superior to humans who cultivate violence; dharma demands inner non-violence.
The verse belongs to the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-māhātmya discourse, reinforcing Kāśī as a realm that upholds and teaches ahiṃsā.
None directly; it is a comparative ethical judgment urging abandonment of हिंसा.