Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 14
जगद्योनिरहं धाता स्वयंभूरेक ईश्वरः । अनादिमदहं ब्रह्म मामनर्च्य न मु च्यते
jagadyonirahaṃ dhātā svayaṃbhūreka īśvaraḥ | anādimadahaṃ brahma māmanarcya na mu cyate
«أنا رحمُ العالم؛ أنا المُقيمُ والحافظ، المولودُ بذاته، الربُّ الواحد. أنا البراهمنُ الأزليّ بلا بدء—ومن لم يعبدني لا ينالُ الموكشا.»
Brahmā (quoted within Skanda’s narration)
Listener: vipra/brāhmaṇa addressee
Scene: Brahmā proclaims himself supreme from a lotus seat, while a greater, formless radiance (Maheśvara) looms beyond, indicating the proclamation’s limitation; sages look on with concern.
FAQs
The verse exemplifies how māyā can inflate ego even in Brahmā; liberation requires correct object of worship and true realization, not self-assertion.
Kāśī remains the textual frame (Kāśīkhaṇḍa); the episode sets up the supremacy teaching that grounds Kāśī’s salvific status.
Arcana (worship) is mentioned in the claim (‘without worshipping me…’), presented within a narrative context rather than as a direct instruction to the listener.