Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18
अनाथवत्सलाऽमोघाऽपांयोनिरमृतप्रदा । अव्यक्तलक्षणाऽक्षोभ्या ऽनवच्छिन्नाऽपराजिता
anāthavatsalā'moghā'pāṃyoniramṛtapradā | avyaktalakṣaṇā'kṣobhyā 'navacchinnā'parājitā
هي رءوفةٌ باليتامى والمستضعفين، لا تخيبُ نعمتُها—هي رحمُ المياه ومصدرُها، وواهبةُ الخلود. علاماتها لطيفةٌ لا تُدرك كنهًا؛ ثابتةٌ لا تُزعزع، متصلةٌ لا انقطاع لها، لا تُقهَر.
Skanda (contextual attribution within Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue)
Tirtha: Gaṅgā (as Āpāṃ Yoni)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Gaṅgā depicted as compassionate mother leaning toward helpless devotees on the ghāṭ steps; her form is subtle—half-seen in mist—yet her flow is steady and unconquered.
FAQs
Divine compassion is especially directed toward the unprotected; Gaṅgā’s grace is described as steady, invincible, and spiritually life-giving.
Gaṅgā as the supreme tīrtha within Kāśī’s sacred geography, the river whose presence defines pilgrimage and purification.
No explicit prescription; the verse functions as a stuti (praise) establishing Gaṅgā’s salvific qualities that undergird acts like snāna and japa.