Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51
स्थित्वा क्षणं शिवशिवेति शिवेति चोक्त्वा यावःप्रियेति कठिनाहि दिवौकसस्ते । किं न स्मरेस्त्रिजगती सुखदानदक्षं त्र्यक्षं प्रहित्यमदनं यदकारितैस्तु
sthitvā kṣaṇaṃ śivaśiveti śiveti coktvā yāvaḥpriyeti kaṭhināhi divaukasaste | kiṃ na smarestrijagatī sukhadānadakṣaṃ tryakṣaṃ prahityamadanaṃ yadakāritaistu
T’arrêtant un instant, tu criais sans cesse : «Śiva ! Śiva !», puis : «Ô bien-aimé de Yāva !»—Ô dieux, que vous êtes durs de cœur ! Pourquoi ne vous souvenez-vous pas du Seigneur aux Trois Yeux, si apte à donner le bonheur aux trois mondes, Lui qui, par sa seule volonté, fit périr Madana (Kāma) ?
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and sages at Naimiṣāraṇya (typical frame; not explicit here)
Scene: A devotee pauses mid-journey, hands raised in anguish, repeatedly crying “Śiva! Śiva!”, while celestial beings are shown as hard-hearted witnesses; in the background, a luminous three-eyed Śiva is envisioned, with Kāma’s ash as a reminder of His will-born power.
FAQs
Even the gods should not forget Śiva—the supreme refuge—who alone grants lasting welfare to all worlds.
The verse sits within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s larger praise of Kāśī and Śaiva refuge, though this particular śloka is chiefly a theological reminder about Śiva.
No formal rite is prescribed here; the implied practice is smaraṇa and nāma-japa—remembering and repeating Śiva’s name.