Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 58
सुनेदिष्ठं करोत्येव स्वयंवर्त्मोपदेशयन् । क्वाहं तत्र वने बालश्चिंताकुलितमानसः । क्व तापसः स यो मां वै सूदिश्येह चानयत्
sunediṣṭhaṃ karotyeva svayaṃvartmopadeśayan | kvāhaṃ tatra vane bālaściṃtākulitamānasaḥ | kva tāpasaḥ sa yo māṃ vai sūdiśyeha cānayat
അവൻ തന്നെ മാർഗ്ഗം ഉപദേശിച്ച് മനുഷ്യന്റെ പഥം അത്യുത്തമമാക്കുന്നു. ‘എവിടെ ഞാൻ—ആ വനത്തിൽ ചിന്തകളാൽ കലങ്ങിയ മനസ്സുള്ള ഒരു ബാലൻ—എവിടെ ആ തപസ്വി, എന്നെ ശരിദിശ കാണിച്ച് ഇവിടെ എത്തിച്ചവൻ!’
Tvaṣṭṛ’s son (tvāṣṭraḥ), recalling the ascetic guide as Śiva’s instrument/form
Tirtha: Kāśikā (as the guided destination)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka-sages (frame assumed; not explicit)
Scene: A worried boy lost in a forest is approached by a radiant ascetic with kamaṇḍalu and staff, pointing the way; the path opens toward the luminous city of Kāśī in the distance.
FAQs
The Lord guides seekers from confusion to the right path—often through a human-looking teacher or ascetic.
Kāśī is implied as the ‘here’ reached by divine guidance, central to the Kāśī Khaṇḍa pilgrimage ethos.
No formal rite; the emphasis is on receiving instruction (upadeśa) and following the shown path.