Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 73
काऽलीकमालयो वक्ति स्निग्धमुग्धेसखीजने । तद्दर्शनेन स्थास्यंति प्राणा यास्यंति चान्यथा
kā'līkamālayo vakti snigdhamugdhesakhījane | taddarśanena sthāsyaṃti prāṇā yāsyaṃti cānyathā
“Surely it is not false,” Mālaya said to the affectionate, innocent circle of friends. “If I see him, my life-breaths will remain; otherwise, they will depart.”
Skanda (narrating within Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Mālaya speaks reassuringly to the innocent, affectionate friends; the heroine’s fragility is palpable—life hangs on the promise of seeing him again.
FAQs
Darśana is presented as life-giving; symbolically, vision of the beloved/divine sustains the prāṇas and restores inner stability.
Kāśī is the overarching sacred frame of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where darśana and devotion are heightened themes.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse emphasizes darśana as a transformative act.