Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 62
नार्थवादोयमुदितः स्तुतिवादो न वै मुने । सत्यं यथार्थवादोयं श्रद्धेयः सद्भिरादरात्
nārthavādoyamuditaḥ stutivādo na vai mune | satyaṃ yathārthavādoyaṃ śraddheyaḥ sadbhirādarāt
ఓ మునీ, ఇది అర్థవాదం (అతిశయోక్తి) కాదు, స్తుతిమాత్రమూ కాదు; ఇది సత్యమైన యథార్థ వచనం—సద్జనులు భక్తితో ఆదరించి స్వీకరించాలి.
Skanda
Listener: Muni (explicitly addressed)
Scene: A sage questions; the narrator responds with calm certainty. A scroll or palm-leaf manuscript glows, symbolizing ‘yathārtha-vāda’; the confluence and tīrthas appear behind as validated reality.
FAQs
The text frames tīrtha-māhātmya as reliable dharma-teaching, urging śraddhā grounded in reverent trust rather than skepticism.
The verse validates the preceding praise of Kāśī’s tīrthas—especially Lolārka and the Gaṅgā–Asi confluence.
No ritual is prescribed; it instructs the listener to accept the stated māhātmya as truthful and worthy of faith.