Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 89
शंभो महेश करुणाकर शूलपाणे मृत्युंजयस्त्वमिति वेदविदो वदंति । त्वद्दत्त बालतनये यदि कालकालः स्यादेवमत्र वद कस्य भवेन्न पातः
śaṃbho maheśa karuṇākara śūlapāṇe mṛtyuṃjayastvamiti vedavido vadaṃti | tvaddatta bālatanaye yadi kālakālaḥ syādevamatra vada kasya bhavenna pātaḥ
हे शंभो, महेश, करुणासागर, त्रिशूलधारी! वेदज्ञ म्हणतात की तू मृत्युञ्जय आहेस. जर तुझ्या कृपेने मिळालेल्या बालपुत्रालाच काळरूपी मृत्यू मृत्यू ठरला, तर सांग—या जगात कोणाचा पतन होणार नाही?
A grieving parent/devotee praying to Śiva (within Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī / Viśveśvara-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A bereaved speaker raises hands in supplication before Śiva as Mṛtyuñjaya—trident-bearing, compassionate—while the shadow of Kāla looms, emphasizing the paradox of death striking even a boon-born child.
FAQs
It expresses crisis-faith: even amid unbearable loss, the devotee appeals to Śiva as Mṛtyuñjaya, the final refuge beyond death.
The verse is a direct Śiva-prayer; within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa frame, it resonates strongly with Kāśī’s identity as Śiva’s city and a place associated with liberation.
No explicit ritual is stated; the theological focus is on Śiva as Mṛtyuñjaya (often linked elsewhere with japa and worship).