Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 30
कलिकल्मषपुष्टा ये ये दुष्टा नास्तिकाः शठाः । एतेषां सिद्धलिंगानां ज्ञास्यंत्याख्यामपीह न
kalikalmaṣapuṣṭā ye ye duṣṭā nāstikāḥ śaṭhāḥ | eteṣāṃ siddhaliṃgānāṃ jñāsyaṃtyākhyāmapīha na
Jene Bösen, Gottlosen und Hinterlistigen, genährt von den Sünden des Kali-Zeitalters, erkennen hier nicht einmal die Namen und den Ruhm dieser vollendeten (selbstoffenbarten) Liṅgas.
Skanda
Tirtha: Siddhaliṅga-s (group) in Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: a beloved interlocutor (commonly Devasenā in Kāśī-khaṇḍa dialogues)
Scene: A Kāśī lane with multiple small shrines; radiant liṅgas remain ‘unseen’ to shadowy, skeptical figures, while devotees with folded hands perceive their glory.
FAQs
Kāśī’s sacred manifestations are so exalted that those hardened by Kali-yuga sin remain cut off even from their very renown; faith and reverence are prerequisites for receiving tīrtha-knowledge.
Kāśī/Ānandakānana (Vārāṇasī), through the praise of its ‘siddha’ (self-established) Śiva-liṅgas.
No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse sets a contrast preparing for the later teaching that even hearing the names of the liṅgas yields merit.