Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 36
बालत्वाद्भीषितो भूतैस्तपस्त्यक्ष्यत्यसौ ध्रुवम् । इति निश्चित्य भूतालिं प्रेषयामास वासवः
bālatvādbhīṣito bhūtaistapastyakṣyatyasau dhruvam | iti niścitya bhūtāliṃ preṣayāmāsa vāsavaḥ
“આ તો બાળક છે; ભૂતોના ભયથી નિશ્ચયે તપ છોડશે”—એમ નક્કી કરીને વાસવ (ઇન્દ્ર) એ ભૂતગણોની ટોળકી તેના પર મોકલી।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: Indra, anxious about a child-ascetic’s rising tapas, dispatches a swirling troop of bhūtas toward the solitary boy absorbed in austerity, with Kāśī’s sacred ambience in the background.
FAQs
True tapas is tested by fear and obstruction; steadfastness is the measure of spiritual resolve.
The broader setting is Kāśī in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa; this verse itself focuses on a trial of austerity rather than naming a specific tīrtha.
No specific rite is prescribed here; the theme is the protection and perseverance of tapas (austerity).