Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86
नोप्तो बलिर्न बत कासु च देवता सुतीर्थानि कानि न मयाध्युषितानि वत्स । के के मया न नियमौषधमंत्रयंत्राः संसाधितास्तव कृते सुकृतैकलभ्य
nopto balirna bata kāsu ca devatā sutīrthāni kāni na mayādhyuṣitāni vatsa | ke ke mayā na niyamauṣadhamaṃtrayaṃtrāḥ saṃsādhitāstava kṛte sukṛtaikalabhya
«حقًّا ما تركتُ قربانًا إلا قدّمته، وإلى أيّ الآلهة لم أتضرّع؟ وأيّ المعابر المقدّسة لم أقم بها، يا ولدي؟ وأيّ نذورٍ وأدويةٍ ومانتراتٍ وآلاتٍ طقسية لم أُنجزها لأجلك—يا من لا يُنال إلا بفضائل متراكمة!»
A grieving mother (narrative voice within Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Kāśī (as umbrella for ‘su-tīrthāni’)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A devotee-parent recounts offerings, deity-supplications, and residence at sacred fords; ritual paraphernalia—mantra scrolls, yantras, herbs—surround the figure, yet grief remains.
FAQs
Even extensive ritual effort cannot fully control fate; merit and divine will operate beyond human grasp, urging surrender and right understanding of dharma.
Tīrthas are referenced generically; the overarching Kāśī Khaṇḍa frames Kāśī as the supreme tīrtha among tīrthas.
General observances are listed—bali (offerings), niyama (vows), mantras, and yantras—without specifying a single named rite.