Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 24
यदाप्रभृत्यगां काश्या मंदरं सर्वसुंदरम् । महानियमवानेष तदारभ्योज्झिताशनः
yadāprabhṛtyagāṃ kāśyā maṃdaraṃ sarvasuṃdaram | mahāniyamavāneṣa tadārabhyojjhitāśanaḥ
“যেতিয়াৰে পৰা তেওঁ কাশীলৈ—সৰ্বসুন্দৰৰ মাজত অতি সুন্দৰ মন্দৰলৈ—আহিছে, তেতিয়াৰে পৰা এইজন মহা-নিয়মত ৰত আৰু সেই সময়ৰ পৰাই আহাৰ ত্যাগ কৰিছে।”
Śiva (continuing instruction)
Tirtha: Kāśī (as Mandara)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Nandī
Scene: A panoramic Kāśī vista—temple spires, ghāṭ steps, and luminous sky—captioned ‘Mandara’. In the foreground, Jaigīṣavya arrives with a staff and waterpot, then gradually becomes emaciated through prolonged fasting, seated near a shrine in unwavering meditation.
FAQs
Kāśī is portrayed as a supreme spiritual arena where intense niyama and renunciation mature toward divine encounter.
Kāśī is praised as ‘Mandara, most beautiful,’ indicating a sanctified locale within Kāśī’s sacred topography.
Not a prescription, but a description of a severe vrata: long-term fasting (giving up food) alongside strict niyamas.