Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 87
वाराणसीं स्मरहरप्रियराजधानीं त्यक्त्वा कुतो व्रजसि मूढ दिगंतरेषु । प्राप्याप्यजाद्यसुलभांस्थिरमोक्षलक्ष्मीं लक्ष्मीं स्वभावचपलां किमु कामयेथाः
vārāṇasīṃ smaraharapriyarājadhānīṃ tyaktvā kuto vrajasi mūḍha digaṃtareṣu | prāpyāpyajādyasulabhāṃsthiramokṣalakṣmīṃ lakṣmīṃ svabhāvacapalāṃ kimu kāmayethāḥ
أَتَتْرُكُ فاراناسي، عاصمةَ سماراهارا (شيفا) المحبوبة، قاتلَ كاما، ثمّ لماذا—أيها المغرورُ الضالّ—تتيهُ في الآفاق البعيدة؟ وقد نلتَ لَكْشْميَ الخلاصِ الثابتةَ، العسيرةَ المنال حتى على براهما وسواه، فكيف تشتهي لَكْشْميَ الدنيا المتقلّبةَ بطبعها؟
Skanda (deduced from Kāśī-khaṇḍa dialogic frame: Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: A wavering pilgrim/seeker archetype addressed as ‘mūḍha’ (deluded)
Scene: A pilgrim stands at a crossroads: one path leads to distant lands with symbols of wealth and trade; the other leads to Kāśī’s ghats and Viśvanātha temple. Above Kāśī, Śiva as Smarahara presides like a king; beside him, Mokṣa-Lakṣmī stands steady and luminous, while worldly Lakṣmī appears restless and fleeting.
FAQs
Choose the steady wealth of mokṣa available in Kāśī over unstable worldly prosperity; do not abandon the liberating dhāma for aimless wandering.
Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), praised as the beloved capital of Śiva (Smarahara) and a unique bestower of firm liberation.
No explicit ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse; it is primarily a mahātmya-based exhortation toward residence/steadfastness in Kāśī and renunciation of worldly aims.