Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31
को यमः कोथवा कालः को मृत्युः कस्तथांतकः । को वा विधाता के लेखाः कुद्धेष्वस्मासु कः परः
ko yamaḥ kothavā kālaḥ ko mṛtyuḥ kastathāṃtakaḥ | ko vā vidhātā ke lekhāḥ kuddheṣvasmāsu kaḥ paraḥ
「ヤマとは誰か。ではカーラ、すなわち時とは誰か。死とは誰であり、終わらせる者とは誰か。定める者とは誰で、運命の書き付けとは何か—われらが憤怒するとき、誰がわれらの上に立てようか。」
Gaṇas/Pramathas (quoted speech within Skanda’s narration)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Purāṇic audience (not explicit in verse)
Scene: Fierce attendants, eyes blazing, shout rhetorical challenges to Yama and Time; their gestures are defiant—raised fists and weapons—against an unseen cosmic authority, with Śiva’s abode looming behind them.
FAQs
Arrogance—even among powerful beings—blinds one to higher divine authority; humility before Dharma and the Supreme is essential.
The verse occurs in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting of Kāśī, where Śiva’s supremacy over death is a recurring theme.
None; it is a rhetorical boast within the narrative.