Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 66
आर्द्रधात्रीफलोन्माना मृदः शौचे प्रकीर्तिताः । सर्वाश्चाहुतयोप्येवं ग्रासाश्चांद्रायणेपि च । प्रागास्य उदगास्योवा सूपविष्टः शुचौ भुवि । उपस्पृशेद्विहीनायां तुषांगारास्थिभस्मभिः
ārdradhātrīphalonmānā mṛdaḥ śauce prakīrtitāḥ | sarvāścāhutayopyevaṃ grāsāścāṃdrāyaṇepi ca | prāgāsya udagāsyovā sūpaviṣṭaḥ śucau bhuvi | upaspṛśedvihīnāyāṃ tuṣāṃgārāsthibhasmabhiḥ
طہارت میں مٹی کی مقدار تازہ دھاتری (آملہ) کے پھل کے برابر بتائی گئی ہے۔ اسی طرح یہی پیمانہ تمام آہوتیوں اور چاندْرایَن ورت کے لقموں میں بھی ہے۔ مشرق یا شمال رخ، پاک زمین پر درست طور سے بیٹھ کر آچمن/اُپَسپرش کرے؛ اور اگر (مناسب مٹی/پانی) میسر نہ ہو تو بھوسہ، کوئلہ، ہڈیوں کی راکھ یا راکھ کو بدل کے طور پر لے سکتا ہے۔
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly as Skanda teaching Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (ritual conduct context)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A ritual teacher demonstrates a measured clod of earth the size of a fresh āmalakī; beside him, a vrata-observer counts Cāndrāyaṇa morsels; a clean mat on the ground is oriented east/north; a small tray shows substitutes—chaff, charcoal, bone-ash, ash—labeled for scarcity situations.
FAQs
Purification is governed by precise dharmic measures and mindful orientation, yet dharma also provides practical substitutes in scarcity.
The instruction belongs to the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s ritual framework; it does not single out a named tīrtha in this verse.
Earth for cleansing is measured by a fresh āmalakī; the same standard applies to offerings and Cāndrāyaṇa morsels; face east or north on clean ground; substitutes like chaff/charcoal/ashes are allowed if needed.