Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 41
स्वर्धुनी स्पर्शमात्रेण महापातकसंततिः । यत्र संक्षयति क्षिप्रं तां काशीं को न संश्रयेत्
svardhunī sparśamātreṇa mahāpātakasaṃtatiḥ | yatra saṃkṣayati kṣipraṃ tāṃ kāśīṃ ko na saṃśrayet
Wo schon durch die bloße Berührung des himmlischen Stromes die Folge großer Sünden rasch vergeht—wer würde nicht Zuflucht in jenem Kāśī suchen?
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative convention)
Tirtha: Svardhunī (Gaṅgā) in Kāśī
Type: ghat
Scene: Pilgrims at Kāśī’s ghāṭas touch the Gaṅgā; a luminous current washes away dark, smoke-like sins dissolving instantly; the skyline shows temples and the aura of Viśveśvara’s kṣetra.
FAQs
Kāśī is extolled as a place of swift purification, where contact with Gaṅgā removes even grave accumulations of sin.
Kāśī on the banks of Svardhunī (Gaṅgā).
Gaṅgā-sparśa (touching/entering the Gaṅgā; bathing is strongly implied) as a purifier.