Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 26
कन्यारूपधराकाचिद्याभुक्ता केनचित्क्वचित् । देवरूपेण तं कालमारभ्य ब्रह्मचारिणी
kanyārūpadharākācidyābhuktā kenacitkvacit | devarūpeṇa taṃ kālamārabhya brahmacāriṇī
ఒకరు కన్యారూపం ధరించిన ఆమెను ఎక్కడో ఎవరో భోగించారు; ఆ కాలం నుంచే—అది దేవరూపంలో జరిగినందున—ఆమె బ్రహ్మచారిణిగా జీవించింది।
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Dvija interlocutor addressed in nearby verses (contextual)
Scene: A maiden-form apsaras sits apart in contemplative austerity, ornaments subdued, gaze lowered; the background hints at Kāśī’s sacred riverfront, suggesting a shift from pleasure to restraint.
FAQs
Past experiences can become a turning point toward dharmic restraint; brahmacarya is shown as a deliberate vow taken after a decisive event.
The verse is within Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-māhātmya setting, but no distinct tīrtha is named in this line.
The practice implied is brahmacarya (continence), treated as a sustained vow rather than a one-time ritual.