Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51
बालक्रीडनकासक्तां मोहयित्वा निनाय सः । कंकालकेतुर्दुर्वृत्तो दुर्जयोन्यास्त्रघाततः
bālakrīḍanakāsaktāṃ mohayitvā nināya saḥ | kaṃkālaketurdurvṛtto durjayonyāstraghātataḥ
While she was absorbed in childish play, he deluded her and carried her off. That Kaṃkālaketu—of wicked conduct—was hard to conquer by the blows of other weapons.
Skanda (deduced)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (typical frame; not stated in verse)
Scene: A young girl absorbed in play is suddenly seized by the grim asura Kaṃkālaketu; the background suggests Kāśī’s sacred skyline—ghāṭs, temples, and a foreboding aura of adharma intruding into a holy space.
FAQs
Adharma often operates through delusion (moha); dharma must respond with right means, not merely force.
No direct tīrtha praise; the episode supports the Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s broader dharmic and sacred-geography narrative.
None; the verse describes the demon’s method and special invulnerability.