Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18
प्रभासक्षेत्रयात्रायाः पुण्यं प्राप्नोति कोटिकृत् । उज्जयिन्या महाकालः स्वयमत्रागतो विभुः
prabhāsakṣetrayātrāyāḥ puṇyaṃ prāpnoti koṭikṛt | ujjayinyā mahākālaḥ svayamatrāgato vibhuḥ
من قام بالحجّ إلى هذا الموضع نالَ ثوابًا مضاعفًا كروْرَ مرّة، كأنّه قام برحلاتٍ لا تُحصى إلى برابهاسا. والربّ مهاكالا، الشامل لكلّ شيء، قد أتى إلى هنا بنفسه من أُجَّيَيني.
Skanda
Tirtha: Mahākāla (Kāśī-liṅga associated with Ujjayinī)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A Kāśī shrine where Mahākāla is proclaimed to have ‘come’ from Ujjayinī; pilgrims arrive with waterpots and offerings; distant Prabhāsa is evoked symbolically (sea-shells, conch, coastal motifs) while Kāśī’s ghāṭas and lamps frame the scene.
FAQs
Kāśī magnifies pilgrimage merit, and Śiva’s presence as Mahākāla makes the place supremely sanctifying.
Kāśī is praised as granting merit surpassing even Prabhāsa, with Mahākāla present here.
Pilgrimage (yātrā) to the sacred place is the stated practice for gaining multiplied merit.