Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35
कः कामेन न निर्जितस्त्रिजगतां पुष्पायुधेनाप्यहो कः क्रोधस्यवशंगतो ननच को लोभेन संमोहितः । योषिल्लोचनभल्लभिन्नहृदयः को नाप्तवानापदं को राज्यश्रियमाप्यनांधपदवीं यातोपि सल्लोचनः
kaḥ kāmena na nirjitastrijagatāṃ puṣpāyudhenāpyaho kaḥ krodhasyavaśaṃgato nanaca ko lobhena saṃmohitaḥ | yoṣillocanabhallabhinnahṛdayaḥ ko nāptavānāpadaṃ ko rājyaśriyamāpyanāṃdhapadavīṃ yātopi sallocanaḥ
ผู้ใดเล่ามิได้พ่ายแก่กาม—ต่อผู้มีศรดอกไม้ผู้ครอบงำไตรโลก? ผู้ใดมิได้ตกอยู่ใต้อำนาจโทสะ และผู้ใดเล่ามิได้หลงด้วยโลภะ? ผู้ใดมีดวงใจถูกศรแห่งนัยน์ตาสตรีทิ่มแทงแล้วไม่ประสบภัยพิบัติ? และผู้ใดแม้ได้ศรีแห่งราชสมบัติแล้ว ยังไม่ดำเนินสู่ทางมืดบอด ทั้งที่มีดวงตาอยู่?
Skanda (deduced: Kāśī-khaṇḍa default dialogue frame)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A cosmic allegory: Kāma as a flower-weaponed archer aiming at beings of all stations; Krodha as a red storm seizing minds; Lobha as a net of gold coins; a king with a crown walks toward a dark pit labeled ‘andha-padavī’ despite open eyes; in the distance, Kāśī’s lamps offer a clear path.
FAQs
The great enemies—desire, anger, and greed—blind even the powerful; vigilance and self-mastery are essential for dharma.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is the overarching sacred setting in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa, though this verse itself is a universal ethical reflection.
None directly; the verse prescribes inner discipline: conquering kāma, krodha, and lobha.