Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 15
ऋणत्रयमसंशोध्य त्वनुत्पाद्य सुतानपि । तथा यज्ञाननिष्ट्वा च मोक्षमिच्छन्व्रजत्यधः
ṛṇatrayamasaṃśodhya tvanutpādya sutānapi | tathā yajñānaniṣṭvā ca mokṣamicchanvrajatyadhaḥ
แต่หากผู้ใดปรารถนาโมกษะโดยมิได้ชำระหนี้สามประการ—มิได้ให้กำเนิดบุตร และมิได้ประกอบยัญ—ผู้นั้นย่อมตกสู่ทางต่ำ (ล้มเหลวในมรรคา)
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Scene: A would-be renunciant turns away from household duties; shadowy imagery of descent contrasts with a luminous path available to one who has fulfilled debts—sages, devas, and pitṛs appear as witnesses, indicating unmet obligations.
FAQs
Liberation is not a bypass of dharma; one must mature through duties—learning, lineage, and worship—before claiming renunciation.
Kāśī’s mokṣa-vision is the backdrop, but the verse stresses universal dharma-preconditions rather than a named tīrtha.
Repayment of the three debts through study/tradition, progeny (pitṛ duty), and yajña (deva duty) before pursuing mokṣa.