Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 120
मुधा जातिविकल्पोयं लोकेषु परिकल्प्यते । मानुष्ये सति सामान्ये कोधमः कोथ चोत्तमः
mudhā jātivikalpoyaṃ lokeṣu parikalpyate | mānuṣye sati sāmānye kodhamaḥ kotha cottamaḥ
Quan niệm phân biệt giai cấp (jāti) này bị hư vọng dựng lên trong các cõi. Khi nhân tính vốn đồng chung, ai thật là thấp kém, và ai quả là cao quý?
Skanda (deduced; Kāśī-khaṇḍa often Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (frame)
Scene: On a Kāśī ghāṭ, diverse pilgrims of different communities stand together receiving the same teaching and blessing; a sage gestures to the shared ‘mānuṣya’ nature while caste markers fade into the background as illusory labels.
FAQs
Human dignity is shared; spiritual worth is not established by imagined birth-based hierarchies.
The textual setting is Kāśī-khaṇḍa (Kāśī/Vārāṇasī), but the verse itself is a universal moral reflection.
None; it offers a dharmic critique of social pride and false distinctions.