Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18
अत्रत्य जंतुरक्षार्थमसत्यमपि भाषयेत् । येनकेनप्रकारेण शुभेनाप्यशुभेन वा
atratya jaṃturakṣārthamasatyamapi bhāṣayet | yenakenaprakāreṇa śubhenāpyaśubhena vā
یہاں کسی جاندار کی حفاظت کے لیے کبھی کبھی ناحق بات بھی کہی جا سکتی ہے—جس طرح بھی ممکن ہو، خواہ وہ بظاہر نیک ہو یا بد، اگر اس سے حفاظت ہو جائے۔
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Ānandakānana)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A devotee misdirects a pursuer to save an innocent being; the protected creature/person is sheltered near a ghat-side shrine, emphasizing compassion over rigid literalism.
FAQs
Non-harm and protection of life are paramount; ethical speech is guided by compassionate intent to safeguard beings.
Kāśī implicitly, as the moral-spiritual context (‘here’) for heightened dharmic responsibility.
No ritual; it gives an ethical exception: untruth may be spoken if necessary to protect a living being.