Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 11
प्रजाः सृजत रे पुत्रा नानारूपाः प्रयत्नतः । ततः प्रणम्य ब्रह्माणं तपसे कृतनिश्चयाः
prajāḥ sṛjata re putrā nānārūpāḥ prayatnataḥ | tataḥ praṇamya brahmāṇaṃ tapase kṛtaniścayāḥ
“ഹേ പുത്രന്മാരേ, പരിശ്രമത്തോടെ നാനാരൂപ പ്രജകളെ സൃഷ്ടിക്കുവിൻ.” തുടർന്ന് അവർ ബ്രഹ്മാവിനെ പ്രണാമിച്ച് തപസ്സിന് ദൃഢനിശ്ചയം ചെയ്തു।
Skanda (narrating Brahmā’s instruction; deduced)
Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Brahmā instructs a group of sons/ṛṣis to create diverse beings; they bow with folded hands, then turn toward the forest path of austerity, faces firm with saṅkalpa.
FAQs
Right action (creation/duty) should be joined with reverence and disciplined tapas—work and worship together.
Indirectly Kāśī’s Avimukta setting; the verse itself focuses on the origin of a tapas-driven lineage.
Bowing to Brahmā (praṇāma) and undertaking tapas are indicated as foundational religious acts.