Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 44
उपविश्य समीपे ते प्रक्ष्यत्येवमनुक्रमात् । कोसि त्वं किमिहासि त्वं द्वितीय इव कस्त्वयम्
upaviśya samīpe te prakṣyatyevamanukramāt | kosi tvaṃ kimihāsi tvaṃ dvitīya iva kastvayam
يجلس قريبًا منك ثم يسألك على الترتيب: «من أنت؟ ولماذا جئت إلى هنا؟ ومن هذا الآخر إلى جانبك كأنه ذاتٌ ثانية؟»
Skanda (narrating; deduced)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame) / pilgrim addressed within episode
Scene: An aged ascetic sits close to a traveling couple at a Kāśī shrine courtyard, beginning a formal, gentle interrogation—‘Who are you, why here, who is this companion?’—with the liṅga-temple in the background.
FAQs
In a tīrtha, seekers are tested through inquiry—identity, intention, and companionship are examined as part of dharma.
Kāśī is the narrative setting; the verse frames a saintly interrogation within the sacred precincts.
None; it establishes the purāṇic dialogue structure that leads to teaching about the shrine and liṅga.