Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 71
यावदास्यगतास्म्यस्य यावत्खस्थो न भूमिगः । तावदात्मविमुक्त्यैवमरेः पादं दृढं दश
yāvadāsyagatāsmyasya yāvatkhastho na bhūmigaḥ | tāvadātmavimuktyaivamareḥ pādaṃ dṛḍhaṃ daśa
«Tant que je suis encore dans sa bouche, et tant qu’il demeure dans les airs sans avoir touché la terre, pour ta propre délivrance, mords avec force le pied de l’ennemi.»
Skanda (deduced narrator voice; quoted instruction of the wife within the story)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Purāṇic audience (contextual)
Scene: Mid-air, the captive bird bites the hawk’s foot with full force while still in the beak; the hawk recoils, balance disturbed, a dramatic turning point in the sky.
FAQs
Dharma is not passivity; in crisis, righteous self-effort (udyama) applied at the right moment creates the possibility of freedom.
The verse is embedded in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s teaching narrative; it does not name a specific tīrtha in this line.
None; the ‘prescription’ here is narrative counsel about action, not a ritual.