Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 59
एकाकी दैवयोगेन दुर्दमः सोऽवनीपतिः । धन्वी तुरंगमारुढोऽविशदानंदकाननम्
ekākī daivayogena durdamaḥ so'vanīpatiḥ | dhanvī turaṃgamāruḍho'viśadānaṃdakānanam
তাৰ পাছত দেৱ-যোগবশত সেই অৱনীপতি দুৰ্দম একাকী হ’ল; ধনু হাতে, ঘোঁৰাত আৰূঢ় হৈ তেওঁ আনন্দকানন—আনন্দৰ বন—ত প্ৰৱেশ কৰিলে।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Ānandakānana (within Kāśī-kshetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (standard frame)
Scene: A solitary king with bow, mounted on a horse, passes from ordinary terrain into a luminous, verdant sacred forest labeled Ānandakānana; the atmosphere subtly shifts to sanctity and wonder.
FAQs
Providence can lead even the erring into a sanctified space where transformation becomes possible.
Ānandakānana, the sacred “Forest of Bliss” associated with Kāśī (Vārāṇasī).
No explicit ritual is given here; the emphasis is on entering the sacred geography of Kāśī.