Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 19
जीवेन्मृगयु धर्मेण तत्रापि करुणापरः । न विश्वस्तान्पक्षिमृगान्न सुप्तान्न व्यवायिनः
jīvenmṛgayu dharmeṇa tatrāpi karuṇāparaḥ | na viśvastānpakṣimṛgānna suptānna vyavāyinaḥ
شکاری اپنے پیشے سے دھرم کے مطابق روزی کمائے، مگر کرُونا میں قائم رہے؛ وہ بھروسہ کرنے والے پرندوں اور جانوروں کو، نہ سوئے ہوئے کو، نہ جفتی میں مشغول کو قتل نہ کرے۔
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (conduct for residents and forest-dwellers)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A hunter lowers his bow upon seeing deer and birds that are unafraid, asleep, or paired in mating; his face shows compassion and restraint while pilgrims pass nearby, suggesting dharma’s softening influence.
FAQs
Even worldly livelihoods must be restrained by compassion; dharma forbids exploiting vulnerability (trust, sleep, mating).
Kāśī’s broader sacred region is the setting; the verse supports a dharmic environment for pilgrims moving through the kṣetra.
No formal rite; it prescribes ethical restraints (yama-like rules) for conduct.