Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 26
एक एव हि कामोस्ति स्वर्गे सोप्यंगवर्जितः । सांगोपांगाश्च सर्वेषां सर्वे कामा हि तद्भुवि
eka eva hi kāmosti svarge sopyaṃgavarjitaḥ | sāṃgopāṃgāśca sarveṣāṃ sarve kāmā hi tadbhuvi
في السماء حقًّا لا يوجد إلا نوعٌ واحد من المتعة، وحتى تلك ناقصة؛ أمّا في ذلك المُلك على الأرض، فللجميع تُنال كلّ اللذّات المرغوبة تامّةً بأجزائها ولواحقها.
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context typically Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśīkṣetra (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer figure typical of Kāśī-māhātmya dialogues (not explicit here)
Scene: Allegorical contrast: a narrow, uniform svarga pleasure scene (single motif) versus a rich Kāśī scene where diverse human aims—worship, learning, trade, family rites—appear harmonized around the Gaṅgā and temples.
FAQs
Worldly fulfillment is presented as most wholesome when supported by dharma—Kāśī becomes a model where prosperity is ‘complete’ rather than deficient.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is praised indirectly as the realm whose sanctity and dharmic order yield complete well-being.
None; the verse is descriptive, highlighting the fruit of dharmic order rather than a specific vrata, dāna, or snāna.