Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52
आनंदकानने ह्यत्र ज्वलद्दावानलोस्म्यहम् । कर्मबीजानि जंतूनां ज्वालये न प्ररोहये
ānaṃdakānane hyatra jvaladdāvānalosmyaham | karmabījāni jaṃtūnāṃ jvālaye na prarohaye
Hier, in diesem Wald der Wonne, bin ich wie ein lodernder Flächenbrand: Ich verbrenne die Samen des Karmas der Wesen und lasse sie nicht wieder sprossen.
Śiva (as Maheśāna), praising Kāśī/Ānandakānana
Tirtha: Ānandakānana (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrims/seekers in the discourse frame
Scene: In a sacred grove by the Gaṅgā, Śiva appears as a controlled wildfire—flames that do not harm trees or devotees but incinerate dark seed-like karmic granules rising from beings; the grove glows with blissful light.
FAQs
Kāśī is portrayed as a liberating field where Śiva’s power destroys karmic seeds, preventing renewed bondage.
Ānandakānana—the sacred ‘Forest of Bliss’ of Kāśī.
No explicit ritual is stated; the verse emphasizes the intrinsic liberating potency of the sacred locale under Śiva.