Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53
चित्रं यदत्र समरे स हि दुर्गदैत्यस्त्वद्दृष्टिपातमधिगम्य सुधानिधानम् । मृत्योर्वशत्वमगमद्विदितं भवानि दुष्टोपि ते दृशिगतः कुगतिं न याति
citraṃ yadatra samare sa hi durgadaityastvaddṛṣṭipātamadhigamya sudhānidhānam | mṛtyorvaśatvamagamadviditaṃ bhavāni duṣṭopi te dṛśigataḥ kugatiṃ na yāti
اے بھوانی! یہ کیسا عجیب ہے کہ اسی جنگ میں وہ دُرگا-دَیتیہ تیرے نظرِ کرم—جو گویا امرت کا خزانہ ہے—پا کر بھی موت کے قبضے میں آ گیا۔ مگر یہ بھی معروف ہے، اے دیوی، کہ بدکار بھی اگر تیری نگاہ میں آ جائے تو بدگتی کو نہیں جاتا۔
Skanda (deduced: Kāśī-khaṇḍa dialogue framework)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A battlefield tableau where a demon, struck by Devī’s compassionate yet overpowering glance, is paradoxically brought under the law of death—yet spared from evil destiny; Devī’s eyes radiate nectar-like light.
FAQs
Divine grace is transformative: even the wicked, when touched by the Goddess’s glance (darśana/anugraha), are protected from falling into an evil destiny.
The verse sits within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa (Kāśī/Varanasi māhātmya) framework, emphasizing the salvific atmosphere of Kāśī where divine presence and darśana are celebrated.
No explicit ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse; it highlights the spiritual efficacy of the Goddess’s darśana and grace.