Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77
उमेतिद्व्यक्षरं मंत्रं योऽहर्निशमनुस्मरेत् । न स्मरेच्चित्रगुप्तस्तं कृतपापमपि द्विज
umetidvyakṣaraṃ maṃtraṃ yo'harniśamanusmaret | na smareccitraguptastaṃ kṛtapāpamapi dvija
হে দ্বিজ ব্ৰাহ্মণ, যিয়ে দিন-ৰাতি ‘উ-মা’ এই দ্বাক্ষৰ মন্ত্র অনুস্মৰণ কৰে, চিত্ৰগুপ্তে তাক স্মৰণ নকৰে, সি পাপ কৰিলেও।
Skanda (contextual attribution)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: A brāhmaṇa (explicitly addressed)
Scene: A symbolic courtroom of Yama: Citragupta with palm-leaf ledger pauses, unable to ‘note’ the devotee whose body is encircled by radiant syllables ‘उ’ ‘मा’. The devotee stands calm, rosary in hand, while a subtle Umā presence blesses from above.
FAQs
Sincere, continuous remembrance of the Divine Name is portrayed as a powerful purifier that overrides sin-consciousness and karmic accounting.
The teaching occurs within Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī glorification, though the verse itself focuses on mantra efficacy.
Aharniśa anusmaraṇa/japa of the two-syllabled mantra ‘Umā’.