Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72
किं करोमि क्व गच्छामि कथं मेरुं जयाम्यहम् । उत्प्लुत्य तस्य शिरसि पतामि न पताम्यतः
kiṃ karomi kva gacchāmi kathaṃ meruṃ jayāmyaham | utplutya tasya śirasi patāmi na patāmyataḥ
«Que ferai-je ? Où irai-je ? Comment vaincrai-je le Méru ? Si je bondis et tombe sur son sommet—tomberai-je, ou ne tomberai-je pas ?»
Skanda (narrating/quoting the anxious person’s inner turmoil; deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Meru (symbolic reference)
Type: peak
Listener: Ṛṣi audience (contextual)
Scene: A person looks up at the colossal golden Meru, knees bent as if to leap; the scene is surreal—clouds swirl, the summit glows—while the figure’s face shows doubt: ‘will I fall or not?’
FAQs
Anxiety multiplies hypothetical extremes and paralyzes action; clarity arises by shifting from self-reliance to divine grounding.
Not named in this verse, but the Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting frames the resolution as seeking Kāśī and Viśveśa.
None; the verse depicts the symptoms of mental agitation.