Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18
अनाथवत्सलाऽमोघाऽपांयोनिरमृतप्रदा । अव्यक्तलक्षणाऽक्षोभ्या ऽनवच्छिन्नाऽपराजिता
anāthavatsalā'moghā'pāṃyoniramṛtapradā | avyaktalakṣaṇā'kṣobhyā 'navacchinnā'parājitā
तू अनाथांवर वात्सल्य करणारी, कृपेत अमोघ; जलांची आदियौनी व अमृतप्रदा आहेस। तुझे लक्षण अव्यक्त; तू अक्षोभ्य, अविच्छिन्न व अपराजिता आहेस।
Skanda (contextual attribution within Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue)
Tirtha: Gaṅgā (as Āpāṃ Yoni)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Gaṅgā depicted as compassionate mother leaning toward helpless devotees on the ghāṭ steps; her form is subtle—half-seen in mist—yet her flow is steady and unconquered.
FAQs
Divine compassion is especially directed toward the unprotected; Gaṅgā’s grace is described as steady, invincible, and spiritually life-giving.
Gaṅgā as the supreme tīrtha within Kāśī’s sacred geography, the river whose presence defines pilgrimage and purification.
No explicit prescription; the verse functions as a stuti (praise) establishing Gaṅgā’s salvific qualities that undergird acts like snāna and japa.