Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54
प्रमथाः कालयामासुरन्यानपि च याचकान् । इत्थं प्रमथिते यागे प्रमथैः प्रथमागतैः । वीरभद्रः स्वतः प्राप्तः प्रमथानीकिनी वृतः
pramathāḥ kālayāmāsuranyānapi ca yācakān | itthaṃ pramathite yāge pramathaiḥ prathamāgataiḥ | vīrabhadraḥ svataḥ prāptaḥ pramathānīkinī vṛtaḥ
प्रमथांनी इतर याचकांनाही ठार केले. अशा रीतीने प्रथम आलेल्या प्रमथांनी यज्ञ उद्ध्वस्त केल्यावर, प्रमथ-सेनेने वेढलेला वीरभद्र स्वतः तेथे येऊन पोहोचला.
Skanda (deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative voice, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Scene: Pramathas strike down even other petitioners; the yajña lies shattered—spilled offerings, broken posts, scattered vessels. Then Vīrabhadra arrives suddenly, towering and radiant-fierce, encircled by a vast pramatha host like a storm-front.
FAQs
When dharma is violated through arrogance, corrective forces manifest swiftly; cosmic order reasserts itself through Śiva’s emissaries.
The Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s overarching sacred landscape is Kāśī, presenting Śiva’s sovereignty over all rites performed in holy space.
No direct prescription; the narrative warns that yajña must be grounded in humility and proper devotion.