Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 50
भूमिं भित्त्वा स्वयं जातस्तत्प्रासादमिषेण हि । आनंदाख्यस्य कंदस्य कोप्येष परमोंकुरः
bhūmiṃ bhittvā svayaṃ jātastatprāsādamiṣeṇa hi | ānaṃdākhyasya kaṃdasya kopyeṣa paramoṃkuraḥ
Piercing the earth, this has arisen of itself—indeed, under the pretext of that palace. It is, as it were, the supreme sprout of the root called “Bliss”.
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, addressing Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (svayaṃjāta-prāsāda motif)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Interlocutor in Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame (contextual)
Scene: From the earth’s depths, a radiant temple-edifice rises like a luminous sprout; roots of ‘ānanda’ glow beneath, while the city of Kāśī forms a cosmic mandala around the manifestation.
FAQs
Kāśī’s sacred forms are portrayed as spontaneous manifestations of ānanda (divine bliss), not merely human constructions.
Kāśī, specifically the wondrous palace/mandapa whose presence is described as self-arisen and bliss-born.
No explicit ritual; the verse teaches contemplative recognition of Kāśī’s divine, self-manifest greatness.