Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 78
कलंकिकृतमौलिं च धूलिधूसरचर्चितम् । क्वचित्कौपीनवसनं नग्नं वातूलवत्क्वचित्
kalaṃkikṛtamauliṃ ca dhūlidhūsaracarcitam | kvacitkaupīnavasanaṃ nagnaṃ vātūlavatkvacit
मैं उसे न जान सकी—जिसका मस्तक विचित्र चिह्नों से अंकित है, जिसका शरीर धूल से धूसर लिप्त है; कभी कौपीनधारी, कभी नग्न, कभी वातूल-सा प्रतीत।
Dakṣa
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Śiva with ash-grey body, marked head, alternating between kaupīna and digambara; a wind-swept, otherworldly stance suggesting ‘vāta-unmāda’ to the uninitiated.
FAQs
Renunciation can look shocking to worldly eyes; Śiva’s ascetic form teaches detachment from social display and bodily pride.
No specific tīrtha is named; the verse supports the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s Śaiva atmosphere.
None; it is descriptive theology via iconographic traits.