Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 13
तव रीढां करिष्यंति किमैश्वर्येण रीढिनाम् । प्राप्तावहेडना लोके जितकालभया अपि । अथैश्वर्येण संपन्नाः प्रतिष्ठाभाजनं किमु
tava rīḍhāṃ kariṣyaṃti kimaiśvaryeṇa rīḍhinām | prāptāvaheḍanā loke jitakālabhayā api | athaiśvaryeṇa saṃpannāḥ pratiṣṭhābhājanaṃ kimu
Ceux qui se réfugient en Toi, qu’ont-ils à faire du pouvoir du monde? Même s’ils sont raillés en société, ils ont vaincu la peur du Temps (de la mort). Et s’ils sont comblés de prospérité et de puissance, quel autre ‘rang’ leur faudrait-il encore?
Skanda (deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa norm: Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A devotee walking through a bustling Kāśī street: some mock, some praise; the devotee remains calm, holding a mālā. Behind, Kāla (personified time) appears subdued, while Śiva’s unseen protection is shown as a luminous shield. In another vignette, the same devotee offers wealth in charity, indifferent to prestige.
FAQs
True refuge in Śiva makes one inwardly free—beyond social insult, beyond death-fear, and beyond craving for status.
Kāśī, as the realm of Mahākāla where devotees learn fearlessness and detachment.
No explicit rite; the prescription is bhakti-śaraṇāgati—taking shelter in Śiva as the core practice.