Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 69
दुर्भगा सुभगास्याच्च धनाढ्या स्याद्दरिद्रिणी । विधवापि न वैधव्यं पुनराप्नोति कुत्रचित्
durbhagā subhagāsyācca dhanāḍhyā syāddaridriṇī | vidhavāpi na vaidhavyaṃ punarāpnoti kutracit
Die Unglückliche wird glücklich; die Arme wird von Armut befreit und erlangt Wohlstand. Selbst eine Witwe erlangt nirgendwo wieder den Zustand der Witwenschaft.
Skanda (contextual attribution within Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and sages
Scene: A before-and-after tableau: devotees arriving burdened by poverty and grief, then leaving with auspicious marks, gifts, and renewed dignity; a widow devotee receiving blessings at a Śiva shrine by the Gaṅgā.
FAQs
Kāśī-centered observance is praised as destiny-transforming—removing misfortune and stabilizing auspicious life-conditions.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), the dharma-kṣetra where vows are said to yield strong protective merit.
This verse gives outcomes (phala) rather than procedures; the procedure is implied as the Manoratha-tṛtīyā vrata of the chapter.