Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29
न प्रायशस्तपस्व्येष क्व तपः क्वास्त्रधारणम् । न गृहस्थेषु गण्योसौ श्मशाननिलयो यतः
na prāyaśastapasvyeṣa kva tapaḥ kvāstradhāraṇam | na gṛhastheṣu gaṇyosau śmaśānanilayo yataḥ
Halos hindi siya maituturing na asceta—nasaan ang kanyang tapas, at nasaan ang pagdadala ng sandata? Ni hindi rin siya kabilang sa mga maybahay, sapagkat ang kanyang tahanan ay ang pook ng pagsusunog ng bangkay.
Dakṣa (as reported in Skanda’s narration)
Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā (within Kāśī)
Type: ghat
Scene: A speaker dismisses conventional labels—ascetic, householder—while the background shows a cremation ground with funeral pyres, ash, and a serene yet formidable Śiva presence implied by trident and bull-banner.
FAQs
Spiritual greatness is not confined to social stages; misjudging sacred symbols (like the śmaśāna) becomes a cause of offense.
No named tīrtha; the verse references the śmaśāna motif central to Śaiva theology, within the larger Kāśī sacred narrative.
None.