Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 95
पापमेव हि कर्तव्यं मतिरस्ति यदीदृशी । सुखेनान्यत्र कर्तव्यं मही ह्यस्ति महीयसी
pāpameva hi kartavyaṃ matirasti yadīdṛśī | sukhenānyatra kartavyaṃ mahī hyasti mahīyasī
اگر کسی کی نیت ہی گناہ کرنے پر اڑی ہو تو وہ گناہ کہیں اور آسانی سے کر لے—زمین تو بہت وسیع ہے۔ (مگر کاشی میں نہیں۔)
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A teacher-like voice points beyond the city: the vast earth lies open for the misguided, but Kāśī is marked off as a sanctum to be kept unsullied—pilgrims at the city boundary choosing restraint over impulse.
FAQs
A holy place is to be protected by right conduct; Kāśī is not to be treated as a venue for wrongdoing.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), implied as uniquely sacred and therefore morally guarded.
No ritual is stated; the verse gives a practical ethical directive: do not commit sin in Kāśī.