Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 57
वैराग्याद्गृहमुत्सृज्य गृहधर्मान्हृदि स्मरेत् । स भवेदुभयभ्रष्टो वानप्रस्थो न वा गृही
vairāgyādgṛhamutsṛjya gṛhadharmānhṛdi smaret | sa bhavedubhayabhraṣṭo vānaprastho na vā gṛhī
اگر کوئی غلط قسم کے زہد کے نام پر گھر چھوڑ دے، مگر دل میں گِرہستھ دھرم کی آرزو ہی بسائے رکھے، تو وہ دونوں سے محروم ہو جاتا ہے—نہ سچا واناپرستھ، نہ سچا گِرہستھ۔
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A man leaves his house toward the forest path, but a tether from his heart remains tied to household symbols (hearth, ledger, ornaments); two paths diverge, and he stands stranded between them.
FAQs
Renunciation must be wholehearted; abandoning duties without inner release leads to spiritual instability.
No named tīrtha; it is a general dharma instruction situated within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa context of Kāśī.
No ritual; it prescribes integrity in one’s chosen āśrama—do not abandon externally what you still cling to internally.