Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21
अहोनाहस्कराभावान्निशानैवाऽनिशाकरात् । अस्तंगतर्क्षान्नभसः कः कालस्त्वेप नेक्ष्यते
ahonāhaskarābhāvānniśānaivā'niśākarāt | astaṃgatarkṣānnabhasaḥ kaḥ kālastvepa nekṣyate
அய்யோ! சூரியன் இல்லாததால் பகலே இல்லை; சந்திரன் இல்லாததால் இரவும் இரவல்ல. விண்ணிலிருந்து நட்சத்திரங்களும் அஸ்தமித்தபோது, இங்கே காலத்தின் எந்த அடையாளம் காணப்படும்?
Narrator (lament/observation within Vyāsa’s narration by context)
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī (implied)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Other inhabitants/elders (implied)
Scene: A sky without sun and without moon—only fading constellations sinking below the horizon; people look upward in alarm, unable to tell day from night.
FAQs
Time and duty are perceived through cosmic signs; when order collapses, dharmic life becomes unmoored—hence restoration of order is sacred work.
The Kāśī-khaṇḍa frame glorifies Kāśī overall, but this verse concerns universal time-signs rather than a particular tīrtha.
None directly, though the verse implies disruption of kala (proper ritual timing).