Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5
तवबुद्धिविकासेन च्यवते चेत्स धर्मतः । तदा सा नगरी भानो त्वयोद्वास्याऽसहैः करैः
tavabuddhivikāsena cyavate cetsa dharmataḥ | tadā sā nagarī bhāno tvayodvāsyā'sahaiḥ karaiḥ
اگر تیری بصیرت کے کھلنے سے وہ راجا دھرم کی مخالفت سے ہٹ کر دھرم میں قائم ہو جائے، تو اے بھانو! ناقابلِ برداشت محصولوں کے ذریعے اس نگری کو مت اجاڑنا۔
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame: Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Sūrya is addressed as a cosmic regulator; the city of Kāśī is shown thriving when the king reforms—markets calm, pilgrims unburdened—contrasted with the implied threat of ‘unbearable taxes’.
FAQs
Reform is preferred over punishment: if a ruler returns to dharma, harsh measures that oppress people should cease.
Kāśī, referred to as ‘that city’ (sā nagarī), whose welfare is central to the narrative.
None; the verse addresses dharmic statecraft—avoiding oppressive taxation.