Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 74
मनस्विनामपि मनोरागतां सृजते मधौ । तदोष्ठपल्लवाद्रागो जह्रे माकंदपल्लवैः
manasvināmapi manorāgatāṃ sṛjate madhau | tadoṣṭhapallavādrāgo jahre mākaṃdapallavaiḥ
मधुमासात मनस्व्यांच्याही मनात अनुराग उत्पन्न होतो; तरी तिच्या ओठांच्या पल्लवांची लालिमा जणू आंब्याच्या कोवळ्या पल्लवांनीच हिरावून नेली—तिला मागे टाकली।
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (tapovana)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Spring in the sacred grove: mango trees with tender shoots glow red-green; the maiden’s natural lip-redness is poetically ‘outshone’ by mango buds, while her face remains composed, desire mastered.
FAQs
Even when nature stirs desire, the disciplined practitioner strives to transcend passion through steadfast tapas.
The Kāśī Kṣetra context remains the underlying sacred setting for the narrative of restraint and austerity.
No explicit rite is stated; the verse underscores inner vrata-like restraint (control of longing) during spring.