Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 48
तामेव बह्वमंस्तैकां दूतीं मृत्योरिवासुरः । शुद्धांतरक्षिणश्चैतां शुद्धां तं प्रापयंत्वरम्
tāmeva bahvamaṃstaikāṃ dūtīṃ mṛtyorivāsuraḥ | śuddhāṃtarakṣiṇaścaitāṃ śuddhāṃ taṃ prāpayaṃtvaram
Ang Asura’y inakala ang sugo—nag-iisa—na wari’y si Kamatayan mismo. At ang mga tagapagbantay ng panloob na dako, bagama’t dalisay, ay agad siyang inihatid sa dakilang ginang na yaon.
Narrator (within Skanda’s discourse to Agastya, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sages (muni addressed)
Scene: A solitary female messenger stands fearless; the asura recoils as if seeing Death; pure inner-guardians usher him onward toward the 'excellent lady,' heightening dramatic irony.
FAQs
The sacred (or its agent) can appear as death to the adharmic; Purāṇic narratives depict divine justice arriving through seemingly ordinary figures.
Kāśī is the overarching locus of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, but this verse is narrative and not a direct tīrtha description.
None.