Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 67
भासनाद्भर्त्सनाद्भस्म पांसुः पांसुत्वदायतः । पापानां क्षारणात्क्षारो बुधेरेवं निरुच्यते
bhāsanādbhartsanādbhasma pāṃsuḥ pāṃsutvadāyataḥ | pāpānāṃ kṣāraṇātkṣāro budherevaṃ nirucyate
Tinatawag itong bhasma sapagkat ito’y nagliliwanag at sumasaway sa kasamaan; tinatawag itong alikabok (pāṃsu) sapagkat ginagawang alikabok ang lahat; tinatawag itong alkali (kṣāra) sapagkat ‘kinakayod’ nito ang mga kasalanan—ganyan ipinaliliwanag ng mga pantas ang mga kahulugan nito.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A sage-teacher explains three names—bhasma, pāṃsu, kṣāra—while showing ash in his palm; behind him, faint imagery of a cremation ground and a shining inner light, symbolizing impermanence and purification.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma often teaches through nirukti (etymology): bhasma is praised as that which purifies, humbles, and removes sin.
The verse supports the Kāśī tīrtha narrative by explaining the sanctity of bhasma used in the tīrtha’s liberating episode.
No explicit rite is commanded here; it provides doctrinal justification for using bhasma/vibhūti as a purifier.