Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 70
ज्वरो व्यतीते षडहे जीर्णज्वर इहोच्यते । असौ चिन्ताज्वरस्तीव्रः प्रत्यहं नवतां व्रजेत्
jvaro vyatīte ṣaḍahe jīrṇajvara ihocyate | asau cintājvarastīvraḥ pratyahaṃ navatāṃ vrajet
Bila demam bertahan melewati enam hari, ia disebut demam menahun. Namun “demam kecemasan” yang ganas ini justru tiap hari menjadi makin baru dan makin hebat.
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, addressing Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and other Ṛṣis (contextual)
Scene: A pilgrim in Kāśī sits near a ghat, visibly restless; behind him the river flows calmly, contrasting the ‘fever’ of the mind with the coolness of Gaṅgā and the steadiness of Śiva’s city.
FAQs
Worldly worry behaves like a worsening disease; it must be treated at the root through spiritual clarity rather than mere delay.
The wider Kāśī-māhātmya frame points to Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), where refuge in Viśveśa is upheld as the remedy for fear and distress.
No explicit ritual is stated in this verse; it diagnoses the condition (cintā-jvara) as the basis for later counsel on śaraṇāgati (taking refuge).