Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 41
गंगा त्रिकालं परिसेविता मया श्रीविश्वनाथोपि सदा विलोकितः । यात्राः कृतास्ताः प्रतिपर्वसर्वतः कोयंविपाको मम विघ्नहेतुः
gaṃgā trikālaṃ parisevitā mayā śrīviśvanāthopi sadā vilokitaḥ | yātrāḥ kṛtāstāḥ pratiparvasarvataḥ koyaṃvipāko mama vighnahetuḥ
J’ai servi la Gaṅgā aux trois temps du jour ; j’ai sans cesse contemplé Śrī Viśvanātha. J’ai accompli des pèlerinages à chaque fête sacrée : quel fruit karmique est-ce donc, devenu pour moi cause d’entraves ?
Agastya (deduced from immediate narrative context of Adhyāya 5)
Tirtha: Kāśī–Gaṅgā–Viśvanātha
Type: kshetra
Scene: A weary yet devout pilgrim-sage stands at dawn on a Kāśī ghāṭa, hands folded, looking from the flowing Gaṅgā to the distant spire of Viśvanātha, questioning the unseen knot of karma as dark clouds of ‘vighna’ hover symbolically behind.
FAQs
Even great ritual merit can be tested by karma’s ripening; the devotee should seek the deeper cause and remain steadfast in devotion.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), especially the Gaṅgā and the shrine of Śrī Viśvanātha.
Regular attendance/serving of Gaṅgā (trikāla) and repeated darśana of Viśvanātha, along with festival-time pilgrimages (yātrā).