Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 78
मरुस्थले ततो ग्रीष्मे वारिवृक्षविवर्जिते । दिवाकरकरैस्तीव्रैस्ताप्यंते ते पिपासिताः
marusthale tato grīṣme vārivṛkṣavivarjite | divākarakaraistīvraistāpyaṃte te pipāsitāḥ
मग उन्हाळ्यात पाणी व वृक्ष नसलेल्या वाळवंटात, तहानेल्या अवस्थेत ते सूर्याच्या तीव्र किरणांनी होरपळतात।
Skanda (deduced)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A blazing summer desert with no trees or water; sinners stagger under a white-hot sun, tongues parched; heat waves rise; Yāmas drive them onward as the sun’s rays strike like spears.
FAQs
Adharma culminates in deprivation and burning suffering; the verse urges restraint and purity, especially in Kāśī’s sacred sphere.
Kāśī contextually; the desert is presented as a punitive realm, underscoring the value of dharmic life in the holy city.
None.