Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 67
भासनाद्भर्त्सनाद्भस्म पांसुः पांसुत्वदायतः । पापानां क्षारणात्क्षारो बुधेरेवं निरुच्यते
bhāsanādbhartsanādbhasma pāṃsuḥ pāṃsutvadāyataḥ | pāpānāṃ kṣāraṇātkṣāro budherevaṃ nirucyate
Es heißt bhasma, weil es erleuchtet und das Böse tadelt; es heißt Staub (pāṃsu), weil es zu Staub macht; es heißt Lauge (kṣāra), weil es die Sünden «abschabt» — so deuten die Weisen seine Bedeutungen.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A sage-teacher explains three names—bhasma, pāṃsu, kṣāra—while showing ash in his palm; behind him, faint imagery of a cremation ground and a shining inner light, symbolizing impermanence and purification.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma often teaches through nirukti (etymology): bhasma is praised as that which purifies, humbles, and removes sin.
The verse supports the Kāśī tīrtha narrative by explaining the sanctity of bhasma used in the tīrtha’s liberating episode.
No explicit rite is commanded here; it provides doctrinal justification for using bhasma/vibhūti as a purifier.