Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38
आनंदकाननं प्राप्य ये निरानंदभूमिकाम् । अन्यां हृदापि वांछंति निरानंदाः सदात्र ते
ānaṃdakānanaṃ prāpya ye nirānaṃdabhūmikām | anyāṃ hṛdāpi vāṃchaṃti nirānaṃdāḥ sadātra te
حتى بعد بلوغ «آنندكانانا» (كاشي، غابة النعيم)، فإن من يشتاق في قلبه إلى أرضٍ أخرى خاليةٍ من الفرح يبقى حقًّا محرومًا من السعادة هنا على الدوام.
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Ānandakānana (within Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: A pilgrim stands at the edge of Kāśī’s sacred grove (Ānandakānana), yet looks longingly toward distant lands; behind him, luminous Śiva-presence pervades the forest while shadowy ‘joyless’ landscapes beckon in the distance.
FAQs
True bliss arises from inner alignment with dharma and devotion; even in Kāśī, craving elsewhere keeps one joyless.
Ānandakānana—an epithet for Kāśī/Varanasi, praised as the abode of bliss and liberation.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the emphasis is on inner disposition—non-craving and steadfastness in Kāśī.