Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 32
क्षतात्संत्राणनात्क्षत्रं तत्क्वास्मिन्प्रलयप्रिये । वैश्योपि न भवेदेष सदा निर्धनचेष्टनः
kṣatātsaṃtrāṇanātkṣatraṃ tatkvāsminpralayapriye | vaiśyopi na bhavedeṣa sadā nirdhanaceṣṭanaḥ
Ang “Kṣatra” ay tinawag nang gayon dahil sa pag-iingat at pagprotekta sa mga sugatan—ngunit saan iyon sa taong umiibig sa pagkalipol? Ni hindi rin siya maituturing na vaiśya, sapagkat lagi siyang kumikilos na parang dukhang walang yaman.
Dakṣa (as reported in Skanda’s narration)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A didactic tableau: on one side, a king protects the wounded (kṣatra definition); on the other, Śiva as Kāla stands serene amid symbols of dissolution; below, a simple ascetic with no possessions contrasts with merchant wealth—showing the Lord beyond all.
FAQs
When ego argues from social definitions, it misreads divine functions; dharma requires reverence and discernment, not contempt.
No specific tīrtha is mentioned; the verse belongs to the Kāśī Māhātmya corpus that frames such teachings within Kāśī’s sanctity.
None.