Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 45
अजाश्वयोर्मुखं मेध्यं गावो मेध्यास्तु पृष्ठतः । पादतो ब्राह्मणा मेध्याः स्त्रियो मेध्यास्तु सर्वतः
ajāśvayormukhaṃ medhyaṃ gāvo medhyāstu pṛṣṭhataḥ | pādato brāhmaṇā medhyāḥ striyo medhyāstu sarvataḥ
بکری اور گھوڑے کے لیے منہ میدھْیَ (رسمی طور پر پاک) ہے؛ گائے کے لیے پیٹھ پاک ہے؛ برہمن کے لیے پاؤں پاک ہیں؛ مگر عورت ہر پہلو سے میدھْیَ ہے۔
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa: Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sages/pilgrims (implied)
Scene: A symbolic panel showing a cow with highlighted back, a horse and goat with highlighted mouths, a brāhmaṇa with highlighted feet, and a woman depicted as fully radiant—illustrating ritual ‘mēdhya’ loci as an instructional diagram in a dharma discourse.
FAQs
It asserts a dharmic taxonomy of purity, culminating in the claim of comprehensive ritual purity for women.
Kāśī is the overarching sacred frame (Kāśīkhaṇḍa), though the verse is doctrinal rather than geographical.
A rule of ritual classification (medhya/śuddhi) is provided for different beings/body-parts.