Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12
तपस्तादृक्क्व वा तिष्ये तिष्ये योगः क्व तादृशः । क्व वा व्रतं क्व वा दानं तिष्ये मोक्षस्त्वतः कुतः
tapastādṛkkva vā tiṣye tiṣye yogaḥ kva tādṛśaḥ | kva vā vrataṃ kva vā dānaṃ tiṣye mokṣastvataḥ kutaḥ
Où, dans l’âge de Tiṣya, trouver une telle austérité ? Où, en Tiṣya, un yoga pareil ? Où sont de tels vœux, et où de tels dons ? Dès lors, en Tiṣya, comment le mokṣa pourrait-il naître de ces moyens ?
Agastya (deduced)
Tirtha: Implied: Kāśī/Avimukta as Kali-yuga refuge
Type: kshetra
Scene: A stark contrast tableau: on one side, idealized ancient ascetics performing severe tapas and yoga; on the other, Kali-yuga people distracted and hurried. A luminous Kāśī/Gaṅgā/Viśveśvara motif appears as a compassionate refuge bridging the gap.
FAQs
In Kali/Tiṣya Yuga, classical disciplines are hard to perfect; the text prepares the case for a more accessible salvific support—Kāśī’s grace-centered path.
Implicitly Kāśī/Avimukta, since the argument contrasts difficult practices with the easier liberating refuge taught in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa context.
Tapas, yoga, vrata, and dāna are referenced as traditional means—here described as difficult to realize in Tiṣya yuga.