Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 89
शंभो महेश करुणाकर शूलपाणे मृत्युंजयस्त्वमिति वेदविदो वदंति । त्वद्दत्त बालतनये यदि कालकालः स्यादेवमत्र वद कस्य भवेन्न पातः
śaṃbho maheśa karuṇākara śūlapāṇe mṛtyuṃjayastvamiti vedavido vadaṃti | tvaddatta bālatanaye yadi kālakālaḥ syādevamatra vada kasya bhavenna pātaḥ
يا شَمبهو، يا ماهيشا، يا بحرَ الرحمة، يا حاملَ الرمحِ الثلاثي—إنّ العارفين بالڤيدا يقولون إنك قاهرُ الموت. فإن كان للابنِ الطفلِ الذي وهبتَه قد صار الموتُ نفسُه موتَه، فقل لي: مَن في هذا العالم لا يسقط في الهلاك؟
A grieving parent/devotee praying to Śiva (within Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī / Viśveśvara-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A bereaved speaker raises hands in supplication before Śiva as Mṛtyuñjaya—trident-bearing, compassionate—while the shadow of Kāla looms, emphasizing the paradox of death striking even a boon-born child.
FAQs
It expresses crisis-faith: even amid unbearable loss, the devotee appeals to Śiva as Mṛtyuñjaya, the final refuge beyond death.
The verse is a direct Śiva-prayer; within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa frame, it resonates strongly with Kāśī’s identity as Śiva’s city and a place associated with liberation.
No explicit ritual is stated; the theological focus is on Śiva as Mṛtyuñjaya (often linked elsewhere with japa and worship).