Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 34
ढुंढे प्रणम्यपुरतस्तवपादपद्मं यो मां नमस्यति पुमानिह काशिवासी । तत्कर्णमूलमधिगम्य पुरा दिशामि तत्किंचिदत्र न पुनर्भवतास्ति येन
ḍhuṃḍhe praṇamyapuratastavapādapadmaṃ yo māṃ namasyati pumāniha kāśivāsī | tatkarṇamūlamadhigamya purā diśāmi tatkiṃcidatra na punarbhavatāsti yena
يا Ḍhuṃḍhe، من سكن كاشي وانحنى أمامك مُسلِّمًا بخشوعٍ على قدميك اللوتسيتين—فإني أقترب من أصل أذنه وأُلقي إليه السرَّ القديم، الذي به لا تكون هنا عودةٌ إلى الولادة من جديد.
Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda instructing Agastya / narrating Kāśī-māhātmya)
Tirtha: Dhūṇḍhirāja Vināyaka (Kāśī)
Type: temple
Listener: Dhūṇḍhirāja (addressed) and indirectly the Kāśī-vāsī devotee
Scene: A Kāśī resident bows at Dhūṇḍhirāja’s lotus feet; a divine figure (or subtle, unseen presence) leans to whisper into the devotee’s ear—depicting the ‘purā’ (ancient) secret that ends rebirth. Background shows a quiet alley-temple with lamp-light and Ganga’s distant shimmer.
FAQs
In Kāśī, humble devotion—expressed by bowing to the deity’s lotus-feet—qualifies one to receive the liberating instruction that cuts off rebirth.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) itself is praised as the sacred field where the saving upadeśa is granted to the Kāśīvāsī.
Praṇāma and namaskāra—bowing in front of the deity and saluting the lotus-feet—are highlighted as the devotional act linked to receiving mokṣa-giving instruction.