Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 93
दर्भहीना यथा संध्या तिलहीनं च तर्पणम् । हविर्हीनो यथा होमः शिवहीना तथा क्रिया
darbhahīnā yathā saṃdhyā tilahīnaṃ ca tarpaṇam | havirhīno yathā homaḥ śivahīnā tathā kriyā
De même que la sandhyā est incomplète sans l’herbe darbha, que le tarpaṇa est incomplet sans sésame, et que le homa est incomplet sans l’oblation, ainsi tout acte religieux est incomplet sans Śiva.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Gaṅgā-ghāṭ ritual sphere)
Type: ghat
Scene: A ritualist at a Kāśī ghāṭ performs sandhyā with darbha, then tarpaṇa with tila, then homa with haviḥ; above each, a subtle ‘incomplete’ shadow version fades. Finally, a bright Śiva-liṅga appears, and the same rites glow as complete.
FAQs
External ritual components matter, but the supreme ‘essential ingredient’ is Śiva; without Him, rites are spiritually void.
Kāśī is the doctrinal backdrop—Viśveśvara is the unseen core that perfects all rites performed in the sacred city.
It references sandhyā with darbha, tarpaṇa with tila, and homa with havis—implying that rites should be properly equipped and Śiva-centered.