Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79
क्लेशितास्ते गणैरुग्रैर्यातनाभिः समंततः । इत्थं कालमसंख्यातमानीयंते ततस्त्विह
kleśitāste gaṇairugrairyātanābhiḥ samaṃtataḥ | itthaṃ kālamasaṃkhyātamānīyaṃte tatastviha
وهكذا، يُعذَّبون من كل جانبٍ على أيدي أتباعٍ أشدّاء بأنواع العذاب، ويُبقَون في المعاناة زمناً لا يُحصى؛ ثم يُؤتَى بهم إلى هنا، إلى هذا الحمى المقدّس.
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration, typically to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (Vārāṇasī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: A procession of suffering beings driven by fierce attendants through a dark liminal corridor, then approaching a radiant sacred boundary marked by Śiva-emblems and protective guardians.
FAQs
Karmic wrongdoing leads to prolonged suffering, yet the narrative points toward a sacred ‘here’ where a turning-point becomes possible.
Kāśī/Avimukta is implied as the sacred sphere into which beings are ultimately brought for a decisive spiritual outcome.
No explicit rite is stated here; the verse sets the karmic and sacred-geographic context for what follows.