Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 60
कपालपाणिर्विश्वात्मा चचार भुवनत्रयम् । नात्याक्षीच्चापि तं देवं ब्रह्महत्या सुदारुणा
kapālapāṇirviśvātmā cacāra bhuvanatrayam | nātyākṣīccāpi taṃ devaṃ brahmahatyā sudāruṇā
കപാലം കൈയിൽ ധരിച്ച വിശ്വാത്മദേവൻ ത്രിലോകങ്ങളിലും സഞ്ചരിച്ചു; എങ്കിലും അത്യന്തം ഭയങ്കരമായ ബ്രഹ്മഹത്യ അവനെ വിട്ടുപോയില്ല.
Skanda (to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (implied as the ultimate purifier)
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: Śiva as Kapālapāṇi/Bhikṣāṭana, skull-bowl in hand, wandering through cosmic realms while the personified Brahmahatyā clings like a shadow.
FAQs
Merely roaming or worldly movement cannot dissolve grave demerit; deeper expiation and sacred refuge are required.
The verse sets up the need for Kāśī’s unique purifying power, though it is not named here.
The skull-bearing mode (kāpālika marker) is implied; no detailed rite is given in this verse.