Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 48
तामेव बह्वमंस्तैकां दूतीं मृत्योरिवासुरः । शुद्धांतरक्षिणश्चैतां शुद्धां तं प्रापयंत्वरम्
tāmeva bahvamaṃstaikāṃ dūtīṃ mṛtyorivāsuraḥ | śuddhāṃtarakṣiṇaścaitāṃ śuddhāṃ taṃ prāpayaṃtvaram
ആ അസുരൻ ആ ഏക ദൂതിയെയേയും മരണമായിട്ടുപോലെ കരുതി. അന്തഃപുരത്തിലെ ശുദ്ധരക്ഷകരും ശുദ്ധരായിരുന്നിട്ടും അവനെ വേഗത്തിൽ ആ ഉത്തമസ്ത്രീയിലേക്കു എത്തിച്ചു.
Narrator (within Skanda’s discourse to Agastya, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sages (muni addressed)
Scene: A solitary female messenger stands fearless; the asura recoils as if seeing Death; pure inner-guardians usher him onward toward the 'excellent lady,' heightening dramatic irony.
FAQs
The sacred (or its agent) can appear as death to the adharmic; Purāṇic narratives depict divine justice arriving through seemingly ordinary figures.
Kāśī is the overarching locus of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, but this verse is narrative and not a direct tīrtha description.
None.