Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31
को यमः कोथवा कालः को मृत्युः कस्तथांतकः । को वा विधाता के लेखाः कुद्धेष्वस्मासु कः परः
ko yamaḥ kothavā kālaḥ ko mṛtyuḥ kastathāṃtakaḥ | ko vā vidhātā ke lekhāḥ kuddheṣvasmāsu kaḥ paraḥ
„Wer ist Yama? Wer ist denn Kāla, die Zeit? Wer ist der Tod, und wer der Vollender? Wer ist der Ordner, und was sind die Schriften des Geschicks—wenn wir erzürnt sind, wer könnte über uns stehen?“
Gaṇas/Pramathas (quoted speech within Skanda’s narration)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Purāṇic audience (not explicit in verse)
Scene: Fierce attendants, eyes blazing, shout rhetorical challenges to Yama and Time; their gestures are defiant—raised fists and weapons—against an unseen cosmic authority, with Śiva’s abode looming behind them.
FAQs
Arrogance—even among powerful beings—blinds one to higher divine authority; humility before Dharma and the Supreme is essential.
The verse occurs in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting of Kāśī, where Śiva’s supremacy over death is a recurring theme.
None; it is a rhetorical boast within the narrative.