Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86
नोप्तो बलिर्न बत कासु च देवता सुतीर्थानि कानि न मयाध्युषितानि वत्स । के के मया न नियमौषधमंत्रयंत्राः संसाधितास्तव कृते सुकृतैकलभ्य
nopto balirna bata kāsu ca devatā sutīrthāni kāni na mayādhyuṣitāni vatsa | ke ke mayā na niyamauṣadhamaṃtrayaṃtrāḥ saṃsādhitāstava kṛte sukṛtaikalabhya
एकही बळी-अर्पण राहिला नाही; कोणकोणत्या देवतांची मी उपासना केली नाही? कोणती तीर्थे आहेत जिथे मी राहिलो नाही, वत्सा? तुझ्यासाठी—हे सुकृतानेच लाभणाऱ्या—कोणकोणते व्रत, औषध, मंत्र आणि यंत्र मी सिद्ध केले नाही?
A grieving mother (narrative voice within Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Kāśī (as umbrella for ‘su-tīrthāni’)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A devotee-parent recounts offerings, deity-supplications, and residence at sacred fords; ritual paraphernalia—mantra scrolls, yantras, herbs—surround the figure, yet grief remains.
FAQs
Even extensive ritual effort cannot fully control fate; merit and divine will operate beyond human grasp, urging surrender and right understanding of dharma.
Tīrthas are referenced generically; the overarching Kāśī Khaṇḍa frames Kāśī as the supreme tīrtha among tīrthas.
General observances are listed—bali (offerings), niyama (vows), mantras, and yantras—without specifying a single named rite.