सत्यं क्षमार्जवं ध्यानमानृशंस्यमहिंसनम् । दमः प्रसादो माधुर्यं मृदुतेति यमा दश
satyaṃ kṣamārjavaṃ dhyānamānṛśaṃsyamahiṃsanam | damaḥ prasādo mādhuryaṃ mṛduteti yamā daśa
真实不妄、宽恕、正直、禅观、慈悲、不害、克己、安宁、言行柔和甘美、温柔——此十者,即十种“制戒”(yama)。
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: An allegorical mandala of ten virtues around a central serene figure (the sādhaka/pilgrim) seated by the Ganga; each yama appears as a small personified emblem—Truth holding a lamp, Forgiveness offering a lotus, Non-violence sheltering animals, Sweetness as a veena, etc.—with Kāśī temples in the background.
Dharma begins with a concrete ethical code—ten yamas—that purify intention, speech, and action.
The verse is situated in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa milieu (Vārāṇasī), but it functions as a universal dharma-list rather than a site-specific praise.
The prescriptive content is ethical: adopt the ten yamas, including satya, ahiṃsā, and dama, as foundational discipline.