Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 120
जन्मांतरेपि मे सेवा भवतीभिश्च तेन च । विहिता तेन वो जन्म निर्मलं भक्तिभावितम्
janmāṃtarepi me sevā bhavatībhiśca tena ca | vihitā tena vo janma nirmalaṃ bhaktibhāvitam
اے ربّ، پچھلے جنموں میں بھی تم نے میری خدمت کی تھی؛ اسی کے سبب تمہارا یہ جنم پاکیزہ اور بھکتی کے جذبے سے لبریز مقرر ہوا ہے۔
Śiva (deduced from first-person ‘me sevā’ and surrounding Śiva-darśana context)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Viśveśvara-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame) / narrative recipients in Kāśī-kathā
Scene: Śiva (as Viśveśvara) addressing devotees, acknowledging their past-life service and blessing their present birth as pure and devotion-filled; temple ambience of Kāśī suggested.
FAQs
Devotional service bears fruit across lifetimes; purity of birth and devotion arise from accumulated sevā and Śiva’s grace.
The teaching occurs within the Kāśī-māhātmya setting, where Śiva’s grace is presented as especially accessible.
No specific rite; it emphasizes ongoing sevā (service) and bhakti as the sustaining spiritual discipline.