Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 34
सर्वः प्रकृत्या ज्ञायेत स्थाणुः प्रकृतिवर्जितः । प्रायशः पुरुषोनासावर्धनारीवपुर्यतः
sarvaḥ prakṛtyā jñāyeta sthāṇuḥ prakṛtivarjitaḥ | prāyaśaḥ puruṣonāsāvardhanārīvapuryataḥ
All are known by some defining nature; but Sthāṇu (Śiva) is devoid of such limiting attributes. And yet he is not merely a man, for he is proclaimed as Ardhanārī—half female in form.
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Kāśī / Avimukta
Type: kshetra
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame; not explicit)
Scene: Ardhanārīśvara appears above a Kāśī shrine: right half Śiva with matted locks and crescent moon, left half Devī with ornaments; below, the liṅga glows, suggesting the same reality beyond attributes.
FAQs
Śiva is beyond limiting attributes (nirguṇa) and beyond ordinary gender categories, yet manifests compassionately in forms like Ardhanārī for devotees.
Kāśī is the setting of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, and the verse supports Kāśī’s Śaiva theology rather than naming a distinct tīrtha.
None; it is a doctrinal statement about Śiva’s nature and manifestation.