Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 26
वरं तृणानि धान्यानि तानि वात्याहतान्यपि । काश्यां यान्या पतंतीह न जनाः काश्यदर्शनाः
varaṃ tṛṇāni dhānyāni tāni vātyāhatānyapi | kāśyāṃ yānyā pataṃtīha na janāḥ kāśyadarśanāḥ
Besser sind bloße Grashalme oder verstreute Körner—selbst wenn der Wind sie umhertreibt—als jene Menschen, die nach Kāśī kommen und Kāśī doch nicht wahrhaft schauen.
Skanda (deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: A bustling Kāśī street near a ghāṭa: pilgrims pass by distracted, eyes averted from the shrine; in the foreground, wind scatters grains and bends grass—yet these humble elements ‘participate’ in Kāśī’s sanctity. A subtle moral contrast is shown through light: the inattentive are in shadow, the grass/grains in a shaft of sacred light.
FAQs
Mere physical arrival in a holy place is not enough; one must have reverent darśana and inner recognition of Kāśī’s sanctity.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), with emphasis on Kāśī-darśana—truly beholding the sacred city.
No specific ritual is stated; the focus is on the essential spiritual disposition during pilgrimage.