Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 62
न सौंदर्येण वपुषा न बुद्ध्या न पराक्रमैः । एकयैव मनः शुद्ध्या करणानां जयेन च
na sauṃdaryeṇa vapuṣā na buddhyā na parākramaiḥ | ekayaiva manaḥ śuddhyā karaṇānāṃ jayena ca
உடல் அழகினாலும் அல்ல, அறிவினாலும் அல்ல, வீரச் செயல்களாலும் அல்ல—மனத் தூய்மையால் மட்டுமே, புலனடக்கத்தால் மட்டுமே அவர் அடையப்படுகிறார்.
Pitā (Father)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implied)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Kanyā (maiden)
Scene: A contrast scene: mirror reflecting physical beauty, scrolls for intellect, weapons for prowess—set aside; the seeker sits in meditation, senses symbolically subdued (tortoise motif, closed lotus), mind shown as a clear lake.
FAQs
Inner purity and self-mastery are the decisive qualifications for the highest blessings, surpassing beauty, intelligence, and worldly heroism.
No site is named; the verse teaches inner sādhana within the Kāśī Khanda’s dharmic frame.
Indriya-jaya (sense-control) and manaḥ-śuddhi (purity of mind) are prescribed as core disciplines.