Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77
प्राप्य काशीं त्यजेद्यस्तु समस्ताघौघनाशिनीम् । नृपशुः स परिज्ञेयो महासौख्यपराङमुखः
prāpya kāśīṃ tyajedyastu samastāghaughanāśinīm | nṛpaśuḥ sa parijñeyo mahāsaukhyaparāṅamukhaḥ
แต่ผู้ใดไปถึงกาศี—ผู้ทำลายกระแสแห่งบาปทั้งปวง—แล้วกลับละทิ้ง นั้นพึงรู้ว่าเป็น ‘สัตว์แห่งราชา’ ผู้หันหน้าหนีจากสุขอันยิ่งใหญ่
Skanda (contextual attribution for Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogues)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A pilgrim at the ghats turning away from Kāśī’s skyline and Viśveśvara’s spire; the text’s ‘nṛpaśu’ (royal beast) is conveyed symbolically—crown-like headgear with animal shadow—contrasted with luminous path toward the temple.
FAQs
To reject a rare liberating opportunity—like life in Kāśī—is to turn away from the highest good.
Kāśī, explicitly praised as the destroyer of all accumulations of sin.
None directly; the instruction is practical-spiritual: do not abandon Kāśī after reaching it.