Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 81
पतितं तद्धि गृध्रास्याद्वाहीकस्य द्विजन्मनः । हरे विमानं तत्कालमापन्नं सुरसद्मतः
patitaṃ taddhi gṛdhrāsyādvāhīkasya dvijanmanaḥ | hare vimānaṃ tatkālamāpannaṃ surasadmataḥ
Indeed, at that moment the vulture-faced state fell away from Vāhīka, the twice-born; and at once Hari’s celestial chariot arrived from the abode of the gods.
Śiva (Īśvara) (continuation of narrative)
Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Kāśī-Gaṅgā)
Type: kshetra
Listener: (dialogue frame within Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration)
Scene: A cursed, vulture-faced figure sheds the grotesque form; simultaneously a radiant Viṣṇu-associated vimāna descends from the heavens, illuminating the scene with blue-gold light.
FAQs
Sacred merit can overturn degraded karmic states, and divine grace (here symbolized by Hari’s vimāna) follows the purification gained through a tīrtha like Gaṅgā.
Gaṅgā as a liberating tīrtha, presented within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa setting.
No direct prescription; the narrative supports the belief that contact with Gaṅgā (and its merit) leads to immediate upliftment and divine escort.