Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38
वेपमानो महाव्याधिभयात्सांबोपि दारुणात् । कृष्णं प्रसादयामास बहुशः पापशांतये
vepamāno mahāvyādhibhayātsāṃbopi dāruṇāt | kṛṣṇaṃ prasādayāmāsa bahuśaḥ pāpaśāṃtaye
وإذ كان سامبا يرتجف رعبًا من ذلك الداء الفظيع الشديد، أخذ يطلب مرارًا استرضاء كريشنا، متشوّقًا إلى سكون خطيئته وزوالها.
Nārada (as narrator within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame)
Scene: Sāmba, visibly shaken, hands folded in repeated supplication before Kṛṣṇa; the atmosphere is heavy with dread of disease yet softened by the possibility of divine mercy.
FAQs
Fear and suffering can awaken repentance; sincere turning toward the divine is the beginning of purification.
Not yet named in this verse; the narrative is moving toward Vārāṇasī (Kāśī) as the decisive purifier.
Repeated propitiation (prasādana)—devotional seeking of grace—is implied, though no specific rite is detailed.