Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 84
वैष्णव्या मायया विश्वं भ्राम्येतात्र ययाखिलम् । ध्रुवं मूर्तिमती सैषा काशी विश्वैकमोहिनी
vaiṣṇavyā māyayā viśvaṃ bhrāmyetātra yayākhilam | dhruvaṃ mūrtimatī saiṣā kāśī viśvaikamohinī
By the Vaiṣṇavī Māyā, through which the entire universe is made to wander, the world here is deluded. Truly, that very Māyā stands embodied as Kāśī—the unique enchantress of the whole universe.
Skanda (contextual continuation)
Tirtha: Kāśī as Viśvaika-mohinī (unique enchantress)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Kāśī appears as a radiant feminine personification of Vaiṣṇavī Māyā standing over a miniature cosmos of wandering beings; simultaneously, Śiva’s presence is implied as the stabilizing axis—temples and ghāṭas form her jeweled body, Gaṅgā as her flowing veil.
FAQs
Kāśī is portrayed as a mysterious divine power: the same force that deludes the world can, in the sacred kṣetra, be recognized and transcended.
Kāśī itself, elevated from a city to an embodied cosmic principle within the Purāṇic sacred geography.
No direct ritual is given; the verse provides a theological interpretation of Kāśī’s unique power.