Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52
यावद्व्रजेत्त्रिचतुराणि पदानि खेदात्स्वेदोदबिंदुकणिकांचितभालदेशः । प्रत्युद्गमाऽकरणतः किल मे विनाशस्तावद्धराभयवरादिव संचुकोच
yāvadvrajettricaturāṇi padāni khedātsvedodabiṃdukaṇikāṃcitabhāladeśaḥ | pratyudgamā'karaṇataḥ kila me vināśastāvaddharābhayavarādiva saṃcukoca
Als er nur drei oder vier Schritte ging, war seine Stirn vor Anstrengung mit feinen Schweißperlen besprenkelt. „Wahrlich, wenn ich ihm nicht entgegengehe, bin ich verloren!“ — so denkend, schrumpfte der Berg sogleich zurück, als fürchte er die Gabe des Schutzes (und ihre bindende Macht).
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Vindhya (as sacred mountain in Purāṇic itinerary)
Type: peak
Listener: Assembly of sages (frame implied)
Scene: A colossal Vindhya, anthropomorphized, recoils and visibly contracts as a strained figure takes a few steps; sweat beads on the traveler’s brow; the mountain’s ‘fear’ is shown as a physical shrinking, like a living being bound by a protective boon.
FAQs
Pride collapses before true tapas: reverence to saints and prompt humility avert downfall.
Indirectly, the narrative supports Agastya’s southward movement connected to Kāśī’s fame; the verse itself focuses on the Vindhya episode.
None explicitly; the emphasis is ethical—proper reception (pratyudgama) and respectful conduct toward a muni.