Shloka 1
Kāṣṭhīla-Upākhyāna: Rākṣasī, Spear-Śakti, and Kāśī as Śakti-kṣetra
काष्ठीलोवाच । राक्षसं धावमानं तु कालांतकयमोपमम् । दृष्ट्वा सा राक्षसी प्राह भर्तारं मम शंकिता ॥ १ ॥
kāṣṭhīlovāca | rākṣasaṃ dhāvamānaṃ tu kālāṃtakayamopamam | dṛṣṭvā sā rākṣasī prāha bhartāraṃ mama śaṃkitā || 1 ||
കാഷ്ഠീലൻ പറഞ്ഞു—കാലാന്തക യമനെപ്പോലെ ഭീകരമായി പാഞ്ഞുവരുന്ന രാക്ഷസനെ കണ്ടപ്പോൾ, ഭയത്തോടെ സംശയാകുലയായ ആ രാക്ഷസി ഭർത്താവിനോട് പറഞ്ഞു।
Kāṣṭhīla
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka (fear)
Secondary Rasa: vira (heroic)
FAQs
It uses the image of a death-like, Yama-comparable threat to set a moral-spiritual tone: worldly power and fear are transient, and the narrative that follows typically points the listener toward dharma and the protective merit associated with sacred conduct and tīrtha-mahātmya.
This verse itself is narrative and does not directly teach bhakti practices; however, by highlighting fear before a death-like force, it prepares the ground for the Purāṇic move toward refuge—where devotion and remembrance of the divine are presented as inner protection amid peril.
No explicit Vedāṅga instruction appears in this line; it is a narrative verse employing simile (upamā) and Purāṇic imagery (Yama as kālāntaka) rather than teaching vyākaraṇa, jyotiṣa, or ritual procedure.