Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 99
आत्मार्थं नोद्यमश्चायं हृत्स्थो वेत्तीति विश्वगः । मातुर्दास्यविमोक्षाय यतेहममृतं प्रति
ātmārthaṃ nodyamaścāyaṃ hṛtstho vettīti viśvagaḥ | māturdāsyavimokṣāya yatehamamṛtaṃ prati
یہ کوشش میرے اپنے فائدے کے لیے نہیں؛ دل میں بسنے والا ہمہ گیر پرماتما اسے جانتا ہے۔ میں امرت کی طرف صرف اس لیے جدوجہد کرتا ہوں کہ اپنی ماں کو غلامی سے آزاد کر دوں۔
Garuḍa (within Skanda’s narration)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Kāśīkhaṇḍa interlocutor(s) seeking māhātmya and dharma
Scene: Garuḍa declares his endeavor is not self-serving; the all-pervading indweller knows his heart. The focus is on the inner witness and the compassionate aim to liberate Vinatā from bondage.
FAQs
Selfless intention (niṣkāma-bhāva) sanctifies difficult action; God-in-the-heart witnesses motive, not merely outcome.
Kāśī remains the overarching frame of the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, but this verse is ethical/theological rather than geographical.
None; it teaches inner dharma—purity of intention and duty toward one’s mother.