Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55
वीणावेणुप्रवादाश्च मृदंगा मधुरस्वनाः । सोमपानं विनान्यत्र पानगोष्ठी न कर्णगा
vīṇāveṇupravādāśca mṛdaṃgā madhurasvanāḥ | somapānaṃ vinānyatra pānagoṣṭhī na karṇagā
وہاں وینا اور بانسری کی دھنیں ہیں، اور شیریں آواز مِردنگ بجتے ہیں؛ مگر سوما پینے کے سوا کہیں بھی پینے کی محفل کی آواز کان تک نہیں پہنچتی۔
Skanda
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (typical frame) / pilgrims
Scene: A twilight ghat-scene in Kāśī: vīṇā and veṇu players seated near a shrine, mṛdaṅga rhythms echoing; devotees with lamps; no tavern-like assembly—only a Vedic-ritual vignette suggesting Soma as sacred offering.
FAQs
Kāśī is portrayed as a refined, dharmic society—music and joy exist, but vulgar intoxication and noisy revelry are absent.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a sacred realm where culture is aligned with dharma.
No direct rite is prescribed; the verse contrasts ordinary drinking with Soma (a Vedic-sacrificial context).