Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 13
अहो जना बालिशवत्किमेतां काशीं त्यजेयुः सुकृतैकराशिम् । शालूककंदः प्रतिमज्जनं किं लभेत तद्वत्सुलभा किमेषा
aho janā bāliśavatkimetāṃ kāśīṃ tyajeyuḥ sukṛtaikarāśim | śālūkakaṃdaḥ pratimajjanaṃ kiṃ labheta tadvatsulabhā kimeṣā
হায়! লোকেরা শিশুর মতো এই কাশীকে—যা পুণ্যের একমাত্র সঞ্চয়—কেন ত্যাগ করবে? ডুব না দিয়ে কি শালুককন্দ মেলে? তেমনি কি এই কাশী এত সহজলভ্য?
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A river scene: divers plunge into water to retrieve lotus-roots while a narrator points to Kāśī’s ghats, equating the dive with the effort needed to obtain Kāśī’s merit.
FAQs
Kāśī is not casually attained; it is reached through deep merit—so abandoning it is a sign of spiritual childishness.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), portrayed as a rare fruit of accumulated sukṛta.
No explicit ritual; the lotus-root metaphor implies effort, austerity, and merit are required to reach Kāśī.