Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53
बलिपुष्टैरपुष्टांगा रटतः करटाः कटु । वलिभिश्चातिपुष्टांगैरबलाश्चंचुभिर्हताः
balipuṣṭairapuṣṭāṃgā raṭataḥ karaṭāḥ kaṭu | valibhiścātipuṣṭāṃgairabalāścaṃcubhirhatāḥ
Sebahagian, walau dikuatkan oleh persembahan, tetap lemah anggota lalu menjerit dengan suara pedih; yang lain, terlalu gemuk kerana kelalaian menikmati, ditumbangkan oleh patukan paruh yang tidak berdaya.
Skanda (deduced, Kāśī-khaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)
Type: kund
Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame) / within episode: Agastya addressed later
Scene: A flock of distressed birds—some gaunt despite offerings, others overfed—crying harshly in the sky, struck and tumbling toward a sacred pond below; pilgrims watch from the bank.
FAQs
Worldly conditions—weakness or excess—still bind beings to suffering; the narrative prepares the listener for the liberating power of a Kāśī tīrtha.
This verse is part of the lead-up to the kuṇḍa that becomes renowned as Haṃsatīrtha near Kṛttivāseśvara in Kāśī.
No direct ritual is prescribed in this verse; it narrates distress that culminates in the revelation of the tīrtha’s saving power.