Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5
यदु दुग्धनिधिं निमथ्यदेवैर्मृदुसारः समकर्षि पूर्णचंद्रः । स बभूव कृशो वियोगतप्तेश्वरमूर्धोष्मपरिक्षरच्छरीरः
yadu dugdhanidhiṃ nimathyadevairmṛdusāraḥ samakarṣi pūrṇacaṃdraḥ | sa babhūva kṛśo viyogatapteśvaramūrdhoṣmaparikṣaraccharīraḥ
Als die Götter den Milchozean quirnten und die sanfte Essenz—den Vollmond—hervorzogen, wurde auch er mager; sein Leib schien zu zerschmelzen unter der Hitze, die vom Haupt des Herrn aufstieg, versengt vom Schmerz der Trennung (von Kāśī).
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: The Ocean of Milk churning yields the full Moon; yet the Moon appears wan and thinned, as if melting under the heat rising from Śiva’s head—an allegory of Kāśī-viraha scorching even the cool lunar essence.
FAQs
Even cosmic powers like the Moon are portrayed as affected by Śiva’s intense love for Kāśī, highlighting Kāśī’s supreme sanctity and Śiva’s intimate bond with it.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), presented as so dear to Śiva that separation from it generates a world-affecting “heat” of longing.
None explicitly; the verse is a poetic mahātmya-style praise illustrating Kāśī’s greatness through Śiva’s viraha (separation).