Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20
पितृदेवक्रतुकृते मधुपर्कार्थमेव च । तत्र हिंसाप्यहिंसा स्याद्धिंसान्यत्र सुदुस्तरा
pitṛdevakratukṛte madhuparkārthameva ca | tatra hiṃsāpyahiṃsā syāddhiṃsānyatra sudustarā
پِتروں، دیوتاؤں اور یَجْن کے کرتویہ کے لیے، اور مدھوپرک کی نذر کے لیے بھی—وہاں کی گئی ہنسا بھی اہنسا مانی جاتی ہے؛ مگر اس کے سوا کہیں کی ہنسا نہایت دشوار اور ناقابلِ جواز ہے۔
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: On a Gaṅgā ghat, a householder performs śrāddha with piṇḍa and tarpaṇa; nearby, an honored guest is offered madhuparka in a ritualized setting; a contrasting shadow-scene shows senseless slaughter fading into darkness labeled ‘anyatra’.
FAQs
Dharma is contextual: acts may be judged differently when performed within sanctioned rites versus done for personal desire.
Kāśī is the overarching sacred geography of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa; this verse itself is primarily normative (ritual ethics).
It mentions pitṛ-kṛtya (ancestral rites), deva rites, kratu (sacrifice), and madhuparka offering as sanctioned contexts.