Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 98
न स्त्रीणां वपनं कार्यं न च गाः समनुव्रजेत् । न च रात्रौ वसेद्गोष्ठे न कुर्याद्वैदिकीं श्रुतिम्
na strīṇāṃ vapanaṃ kāryaṃ na ca gāḥ samanuvrajet | na ca rātrau vasedgoṣṭhe na kuryādvaidikīṃ śrutim
Không nên làm lễ cạo tóc cho phụ nữ; không nên đi theo sau bò; không nên trú đêm trong chuồng bò, và cũng không nên tụng đọc Thánh điển Veda (śruti) tại đó.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A pilgrim in Kāśī is instructed by an elder priest: the cowshed at night is shown as a liminal, impure space for Vedic recitation; cows and attendants pass by; the pilgrim turns toward a clean ghat/temple courtyard for svādhyāya.
FAQs
Purity of place and propriety of conduct support dharma; sacred recitation and living spaces have prescribed boundaries.
The broader context is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, where right conduct is praised as part of Kāśī’s sanctity.
Avoid shaving women, avoid closely trailing cows, do not sleep in a cowshed at night, and do not perform Vedic recitation in that setting.