Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 60
कपालपाणिर्विश्वात्मा चचार भुवनत्रयम् । नात्याक्षीच्चापि तं देवं ब्रह्महत्या सुदारुणा
kapālapāṇirviśvātmā cacāra bhuvanatrayam | nātyākṣīccāpi taṃ devaṃ brahmahatyā sudāruṇā
کھوپڑی ہاتھ میں لیے، عالم گیر آتما نے تینوں جہانوں میں سیر کی؛ مگر نہایت ہولناک برہماہتیا نے اُس دیوتا کو نہ چھوڑا۔
Skanda (to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (implied as the ultimate purifier)
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: Śiva as Kapālapāṇi/Bhikṣāṭana, skull-bowl in hand, wandering through cosmic realms while the personified Brahmahatyā clings like a shadow.
FAQs
Merely roaming or worldly movement cannot dissolve grave demerit; deeper expiation and sacred refuge are required.
The verse sets up the need for Kāśī’s unique purifying power, though it is not named here.
The skull-bearing mode (kāpālika marker) is implied; no detailed rite is given in this verse.