Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35
अनाश्रमी न तिष्ठेत दिनमेकमपि द्विजः । आश्रमं तु विना तिष्ठन्प्रायश्चित्ती यतो हि सः
anāśramī na tiṣṭheta dinamekamapi dvijaḥ | āśramaṃ tu vinā tiṣṭhanprāyaścittī yato hi saḥ
两次出生者（dvija）不可无所归属而离于住期（āśrama），哪怕一日也不可。因为无住期而住者，便应受赎罪法（prāyaścitta）。
Skanda
Scene: A dvija standing before a dharma-assembly with a manuscript of dharmaśāstra; a small scale symbolizes accountability; a priest indicates expiation rites, emphasizing immediacy (‘not even one day’).
FAQs
Spiritual life requires stable dharmic anchoring; drifting outside disciplined stages is treated as a fault needing correction.
Kāśī is the contextual backdrop; the city’s greatness is tied to living dharma, not only pilgrimage.
It states that living without an āśrama entails prāyaścitta (expiatory rite).