Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 865
क्षुत्क्षामः शुष्ककंठोष्ठो हाहेति परिदेवयन् । पुनः काशीपुरीं प्राप्तः परिम्लानमुखो वणिक्
kṣutkṣāmaḥ śuṣkakaṃṭhoṣṭho hāheti paridevayan | punaḥ kāśīpurīṃ prāptaḥ parimlānamukho vaṇik
വിശപ്പാൽ ക്ഷീണിച്ച്, കണ്ഠവും അധരങ്ങളും വരണ്ടു, ‘ഹായ ഹായ’ എന്നു വിലപിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് ആ വണിക് വീണ്ടും കാശീപുരിയിൽ എത്തി; അവന്റെ മുഖം പൂർണ്ണമായി വാടിയിരുന്നു।
Skanda (deduced: narrative portion within Skanda’s discourse)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), Avimukta-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A gaunt merchant, dust-covered and exhausted, staggers toward the ghāṭ-lined skyline of Kāśī; his lips cracked, eyes hollow, hands clasped in helpless lament as temple spires rise beyond the Gaṅgā haze.
FAQs
Even amid hardship, the pull of Kāśī as a sacred refuge remains compelling—pilgrimage and return to the kṣetra are portrayed as spiritually significant.
Kāśīpurī (Vārāṇasī), approached as a salvific and protective sacred city.
No explicit prescription; the verse functions as narrative setup emphasizing the pilgrim’s condition and return.