Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 93
दर्भहीना यथा संध्या तिलहीनं च तर्पणम् । हविर्हीनो यथा होमः शिवहीना तथा क्रिया
darbhahīnā yathā saṃdhyā tilahīnaṃ ca tarpaṇam | havirhīno yathā homaḥ śivahīnā tathā kriyā
जशी दर्भाविना संध्या अपूर्ण, तिळाविना तर्पण अपूर्ण, आणि हविर्विना होम अपूर्ण—तशी शिवाविना क्रिया अपूर्ण।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Gaṅgā-ghāṭ ritual sphere)
Type: ghat
Scene: A ritualist at a Kāśī ghāṭ performs sandhyā with darbha, then tarpaṇa with tila, then homa with haviḥ; above each, a subtle ‘incomplete’ shadow version fades. Finally, a bright Śiva-liṅga appears, and the same rites glow as complete.
FAQs
External ritual components matter, but the supreme ‘essential ingredient’ is Śiva; without Him, rites are spiritually void.
Kāśī is the doctrinal backdrop—Viśveśvara is the unseen core that perfects all rites performed in the sacred city.
It references sandhyā with darbha, tarpaṇa with tila, and homa with havis—implying that rites should be properly equipped and Śiva-centered.