Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 58
स्थानं कुरु महादेव यदि तुष्टोऽसि मे भव । शिवेन स्थानकं दत्तं काशीतुल्यं तदा नृप । तद्दत्त्वा च पुनः प्राह अन्यं वरय सत्तम
sthānaṃ kuru mahādeva yadi tuṣṭo'si me bhava | śivena sthānakaṃ dattaṃ kāśītulyaṃ tadā nṛpa | taddattvā ca punaḥ prāha anyaṃ varaya sattama
„Errichte eine heilige Stätte, o Mahādeva, wenn du mit mir zufrieden bist.“ Da gewährte Śiva, o König, einen heiligen Ort, Kāśī gleich. Nachdem er ihn verliehen hatte, sprach er erneut: „Wähle noch eine Gabe, o Bester der Menschen.“
Sūta (narrating)
Tirtha: Śiva-datta sthāna (Kāśī-tulya) in Dharmāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Listener: nṛpa (king) addressed in the verse
Scene: Śiva consecrates the sthāna: a liṅga or sacred marker is installed; divine light descends; the king is addressed; Śiva then gestures again inviting a second boon.
FAQs
Śiva’s grace can establish a sanctified locus comparable to Kāśī, showing how dharma is anchored in sacred places.
A Dharmāraṇya “sthānaka” is explicitly said to be “kāśī-tulya” (equal to Kāśī/Varanasi).
No detailed rite is specified; the verse emphasizes the grant of a sacred station and its Kāśī-like merit.