Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7
यद्ददाति फलं काशी सेविता कल्पसंख्यया । कला ददाति मथुरा वासरेणापि तत्फलम्
yaddadāti phalaṃ kāśī sevitā kalpasaṃkhyayā | kalā dadāti mathurā vāsareṇāpi tatphalam
The fruit that Kāśī grants when revered through a multitude of kalpas—Mathurā grants that very fruit in but a fraction (kalā); indeed, even in a single day it bestows the same reward.
Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Mathurā
Type: kshetra
Scene: A poetic tableau of two sacred cities weighed on a cosmic scale: Kāśī with kalpa-long lamps and ghāṭas, and Mathurā with a single day’s sunrise over Yamunā yielding equal radiance; sages record the comparison on palm-leaf manuscripts.
FAQs
Purāṇic māhātmyas teach that certain kṣetras concentrate spiritual potency, making liberation-oriented merit accessible even quickly.
Mathurā is exalted, with Kāśī used as a revered benchmark for comparison.
Sevā (devotional visiting/reverence) of Kāśī and Mathurā is implied; the verse highlights differing intensities of resulting phala.