Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 40
नाद्यापि स बहिर्गच्छेन्नाद्याप्याशा प्रयाति नः । इत्यास्महे निराधारा आशापाश नियंत्रिताः
nādyāpi sa bahirgacchennādyāpyāśā prayāti naḥ | ityāsmahe nirādhārā āśāpāśa niyaṃtritāḥ
Doch noch immer geht er nicht hinaus, und noch immer weicht unsere Hoffnung nicht. So bleiben wir ohne Halt, gebunden vom Strick der Hoffnung.
Preta (a departed spirit), speaking to a sage within Skanda’s Kāśī narrative frame
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: tapasvin
Scene: Pilgrims sit or stand with hollowed eyes and clasped hands, as if tethered by an invisible rope; the ‘noose of hope’ is symbolized by a faint cord-like motif around the heart or wrists, while a sage listens in silence.
FAQs
Hope itself can become bondage for negative forces; Kāśī’s sanctity leaves them powerless, clinging only to expectation.
Kāśī/Varāṇasī is the implied sacred space that keeps such forces outside and ineffective.
None explicitly; the verse underscores inner discipline—remaining within sanctity and dharma so ‘sins’ find no opening.