Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 32
सत्यं क्षमार्जवं ध्यानमानृशंस्यमहिंसनम् । दमः प्रसादो माधुर्यं मृदुतेति यमा दश
satyaṃ kṣamārjavaṃ dhyānamānṛśaṃsyamahiṃsanam | damaḥ prasādo mādhuryaṃ mṛduteti yamā daśa
సత్యం, క్షమ, ఆర్జవం (సరళత), ధ్యానం, కరుణ, అహింస, దమం (ఇంద్రియనిగ్రహం), ప్రసన్నత, మాధుర్యం, మృదుత్వం—ఇవి దశ యమాలు।
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: An allegorical mandala of ten virtues around a central serene figure (the sādhaka/pilgrim) seated by the Ganga; each yama appears as a small personified emblem—Truth holding a lamp, Forgiveness offering a lotus, Non-violence sheltering animals, Sweetness as a veena, etc.—with Kāśī temples in the background.
FAQs
Dharma begins with a concrete ethical code—ten yamas—that purify intention, speech, and action.
The verse is situated in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa milieu (Vārāṇasī), but it functions as a universal dharma-list rather than a site-specific praise.
The prescriptive content is ethical: adopt the ten yamas, including satya, ahiṃsā, and dama, as foundational discipline.