Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 27
देवदेव उवाच । आदौ तावददोषं हि ब्रह्मत्वं ब्राह्मणस्य ते । वाजिमेधाध्वराणां च ततोपि दशकं कृतम्
devadeva uvāca | ādau tāvadadoṣaṃ hi brahmatvaṃ brāhmaṇasya te | vājimedhādhvarāṇāṃ ca tatopi daśakaṃ kṛtam
พระผู้เป็นเทพเหนือเทพตรัสว่า: “ก่อนอื่น โอ้ พราหมณ์ ความเป็นพราหมณ์—ภาวะแห่งพรหม—ของท่านนั้นปราศจากโทษแท้ และยิ่งกว่านั้น ท่านยังได้ประกอบอัศวเมธยัญถึงสิบครั้ง”
Śiva (Devadeva)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Dhātṛ (Brahmā)
Scene: Śiva, as Devadeva, formally commends Brahmā’s blameless brāhmaṇatva and the completion of ten Aśvamedhas—visualized as symbolic sacrificial imagery behind the dialogue.
FAQs
Śiva acknowledges orthodox merit—pure dharma and great yajñas—before revealing an even higher sacred principle connected to devotion.
Indirectly Kāśī, since the dialogue belongs to Kāśī-māhātmya; the verse itself highlights sacrificial merit as context.
Aśvamedha (horse sacrifice) is referenced as a great yajña, though not prescribed here as an instruction.