Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 84
श्मशानस्तंभमभितो नीयंते कंठपाशिताः । पिपासिता अपि न तेंऽबुस्पर्शमपि चाप्नुयुः
śmaśānastaṃbhamabhito nīyaṃte kaṃṭhapāśitāḥ | pipāsitā api na teṃ'busparśamapi cāpnuyuḥ
يُساقون مُجرورين حول «عمود المحرقة»، وأعناقهم في حبالٍ مشدودة؛ ومع أنهم يتلظّون عطشًا لا ينالون حتى مسَّ الماء.
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration, typically to Agastya)
Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī) with śmaśāna-stambha motif
Type: kshetra
Listener: Devotee/ṛṣi interlocutor within Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame (contextual)
Scene: A grim cremation-ground: a central stone/wooden pillar (‘śmaśāna-stambha’), preta-like beings dragged in circles with nooses at their throats, cracked lips from thirst, water nearby yet unreachable; Bhairava’s unseen presence implied by dread and order.
FAQs
Karmic bondage can manifest as extreme deprivation; the text uses this to turn the mind toward purification and Śiva’s refuge.
The chapter’s Kāśī setting frames even cremation imagery within a larger Mahātmya of liberation.
No direct ritual instruction; it is a warning narrative within the Mahātmya.