Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 45
तस्य वाहीक विप्रस्य व्याघ्रव्यापादितस्य ह । मध्ये गंगं दैवयोगादपतद्द्वंद्वकारिणोः
tasya vāhīka viprasya vyāghravyāpāditasya ha | madhye gaṃgaṃ daivayogādapataddvaṃdvakāriṇoḥ
Du brāhmane Vāhīka, tué par le tigre—par un concours de la Providence—le pied tomba au milieu de la Gaṅgā, tandis que les deux oiseaux étaient pris dans leur querelle.
Maheśvara (Śiva) (continuing narration)
Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Kāśī)
Type: river
Listener: null
Scene: The severed foot splashes into the Gaṅgā midstream; above, two birds still quarrel; the river glows as a sacred presence, with ghats or a hint of Kāśī skyline in the distance.
FAQs
Even amid grim karma, divine providence can connect a being to purifying sacred reality—here symbolized by contact with the Gaṅgā.
The Gaṅgā is the explicitly invoked sacred locus, foundational to Kāśī’s tīrtha-māhātmya and purificatory theology.
No explicit rite is prescribed, but the verse implies the purifying potency of association with Gaṅgā (snāna/sparśa by extension).