Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 120
जन्मांतरेपि मे सेवा भवतीभिश्च तेन च । विहिता तेन वो जन्म निर्मलं भक्तिभावितम्
janmāṃtarepi me sevā bhavatībhiśca tena ca | vihitā tena vo janma nirmalaṃ bhaktibhāvitam
முந்தைய பிறவியிலும் நீங்கள் எனக்கு சேவை செய்தீர்கள்; அதனால் உங்கள் இப்பிறவி தூய்மையுடனும் பக்தி உணர்வால் நிறைந்ததுமாக விதிக்கப்பட்டது.
Śiva (deduced from first-person ‘me sevā’ and surrounding Śiva-darśana context)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Viśveśvara-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame) / narrative recipients in Kāśī-kathā
Scene: Śiva (as Viśveśvara) addressing devotees, acknowledging their past-life service and blessing their present birth as pure and devotion-filled; temple ambience of Kāśī suggested.
FAQs
Devotional service bears fruit across lifetimes; purity of birth and devotion arise from accumulated sevā and Śiva’s grace.
The teaching occurs within the Kāśī-māhātmya setting, where Śiva’s grace is presented as especially accessible.
No specific rite; it emphasizes ongoing sevā (service) and bhakti as the sustaining spiritual discipline.