Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 47
किं बलाश्च किमाहाराः किमाधारा हि देवताः । विचार्य बहुशो दैत्यस्तत्त्वं विज्ञाय निश्चितम्
kiṃ balāśca kimāhārāḥ kimādhārā hi devatāḥ | vicārya bahuśo daityastattvaṃ vijñāya niścitam
“Sức mạnh của họ là gì? Lương thực nuôi dưỡng là gì? Chư Thiên thật sự nương tựa vào đâu?”—Daitya suy xét mãi, rồi thấu rõ yếu chỉ và quyết tâm kiên định.
Skanda (narration to Agastya, inferred)
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (frame assumed; not explicit in verse)
Scene: The daitya interrogates the unseen structure of divine power—visualized as a chain: devas → yajña → Veda → brāhmaṇa—appearing like luminous links in the air as he contemplates.
FAQs
Power rooted in Dharma has identifiable supports; protecting those supports preserves cosmic balance.
Kāśī is the overarching sacred geography of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, but this verse itself does not name a specific tīrtha.
No direct prescription; the verse foreshadows the Devas’ dependence on Vedic-yajña systems.