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
तो स्वतः मार्गाचा उपदेश करून माणसाचा पंथ अत्यंत उत्तम व सुगम करतो. ‘कुठे मी—त्या वनातला एक बालक, चिंतेने व्याकुळ मनाचा—आणि कुठे तो तापस, ज्याने मला योग्य दिशा दाखवून इथे आणले!’
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.