Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21
गुरुशुश्रूषणं धर्म एको हि ब्रह्मचारिणाम् । अनिष्पाद्य तु तद्वाक्यं कथं मे निष्कृतिर्भवेत्
guruśuśrūṣaṇaṃ dharma eko hi brahmacāriṇām | aniṣpādya tu tadvākyaṃ kathaṃ me niṣkṛtirbhavet
Đối với người giữ hạnh brahmacārin, phụng sự Guru là dharma duy nhất cốt lõi. Nếu con không hoàn thành lời dạy của Ngài, thì làm sao con có thể có sự sám hối chuộc lỗi?
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: A seeker/śiṣya figure within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa dialogue frame
Scene: A young brahmacārin, hands folded, reflects anxiously on the guru’s command, with a forest hermitage backdrop and a distant suggestion of Kāśī’s ghāṭas as the spiritual goal.
FAQs
Student-life is anchored in guru-service; neglecting the guru’s word undermines one’s spiritual standing and blocks expiation.
Kāśī is the larger sacred frame, but the verse is a dharma-teaching rather than a tīrtha-glorification.
It implies prāyaścitta (atonement) conceptually, but no specific rite is prescribed here.