Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 63
अस्थिध्वजांकितं दृष्ट्वा यथा पांथा जलाशयम् । दूरं यंति तथा भस्म भालांकं यमकिंकराः
asthidhvajāṃkitaṃ dṛṣṭvā yathā pāṃthā jalāśayam | dūraṃ yaṃti tathā bhasma bhālāṃkaṃ yamakiṃkarāḥ
जसे पांथस्थ अस्थिध्वजाने अंकित जलाशयाचा संकेत पाहून दूरवर त्याच दिशेने जातात, तसेच भस्मांकित भाळ पाहताच यमाचे किंकर दूर निघून जातात।
Tapasvī/Muni (unnamed)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka-ādi ṛṣis
Scene: A didactic tableau: on one side, travelers spot a sign for a water reservoir and move toward it; on the other, Yama’s attendants spot the ash-marked forehead and move away—two mirrored movements illustrating the simile.
FAQs
The Śaiva bhasma-mark is celebrated as a decisive sign of protection, reversing fear and danger through sacred identity.
The broader episode belongs to Kāśī’s tīrtha-mahātmya (with Vimalodaka Saras in view), where such protections are narrated.
Keeping the forehead marked with bhasma/vibhūti as a protective observance.