Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55
न तादृङ्नेदसि प्रायः क्वापि ज्ञातो महामते । क्रतुस्तु नैव कर्तव्यो नास्ति क्रतुसमो रिपुः
na tādṛṅnedasi prāyaḥ kvāpi jñāto mahāmate | kratustu naiva kartavyo nāsti kratusamo ripuḥ
اے عالی ہمت! ایسی درست بنیاد تقریباً کہیں معلوم نہیں۔ اس لیے کرتو (یَجْن) نہیں کرنا چاہیے—کیونکہ (ناموزوں حالت میں) یَجْن جیسا دشمن کوئی نہیں۔
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa norm)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: A sage warns: ‘No enemy equals a sacrifice’—the yajña ground appears formidable, with shadows suggesting the dangers of error; the patron’s confidence softens into humility.
FAQs
Ritual power is not automatically auspicious; when performed without qualification and right order, it can become spiritually harmful.
The instruction is embedded in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s sacred milieu, implying Kāśī’s dharmic authority rather than naming a particular tirtha in this line.
A negative injunction: do not perform a kratu unless the true prerequisites are present.