Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 71
प्राणायामश्च तपसां मंत्राणां प्रणवो यथा । धर्माणामप्यहिंसा च काम्यानां श्रीर्यथा वरा
prāṇāyāmaśca tapasāṃ maṃtrāṇāṃ praṇavo yathā | dharmāṇāmapyahiṃsā ca kāmyānāṃ śrīryathā varā
正如调息（prāṇāyāma）为诸苦行之首，圣音“唵”（Praṇava）为诸真言之尊；正如不害（ahiṃsā）为诸法（dharma）之先，吉祥女神室利（Śrī）为所求福赐之最上——同样，这被赞颂的圣渡处（tīrtha）亦最为卓越。
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī tīrtha (Gaṅgā/Viśveśvara sphere, implied)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience
Scene: Four emblematic motifs—yogi in prāṇāyāma, glowing Oṃ, compassionate figure practicing ahiṃsā, and Lakṣmī/Śrī bestowing auspiciousness—converge toward the sacred tīrtha backdrop.
FAQs
Spiritual life has central pillars—discipline, sacred sound, and compassion—used here to frame the highest excellence of the sacred context.
Contextually, the Gaṅgā-tīrtha in Kāśī is being praised as ‘foremost’ like Oṃ among mantras.
Prāṇāyāma and reverence for Praṇava (Oṃ) are referenced as exemplary practices; ahiṃsā is upheld as a paramount dharma.