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
ຜູ້ທີ່ໄດ້ພຶ່ງພາພຣະອົງ ຈະຕ້ອງການອໍານາດໂລກອັນໃດອີກ? ແມ່ນແຕ່ຖືກເຢາະເຍີ້ຍໃນສັງຄົມ ພວກເຂົາກໍໄດ້ຊະນະຄວາມຢ້ານກົວຕໍ່ກາລະ(ຄວາມຕາຍ)ແລ້ວ. ແລະຖ້າພວກເຂົາມີຄວາມຮັ່ງມີອໍານາດ ຈະຕ້ອງການ ‘ກຽດສັກສີ’ ຫຼືສະຖານະອັນໃດອີກເລົ່າ?
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.