Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 200
विलोक्य काशीं परितो मायाद्विजवपुर्हरिः । भूयोभूयो विचार्यापि किमत्रातीव पावनम्
vilokya kāśīṃ parito māyādvijavapurhariḥ | bhūyobhūyo vicāryāpi kimatrātīva pāvanam
Hari, habiendo asumido por su māyā el cuerpo de un brāhmaṇa, miró en torno a Kāśī. Reflexionando una y otra vez, se preguntó: «¿Qué hay aquí que sea supremamente purificador?»
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (typical)
Scene: Viṣṇu, disguised as a brāhmaṇa, walks the lanes and ghats of Kāśī, scanning temples and tīrthas; his face shows repeated contemplation, as if measuring an unseen spiritual radiance.
FAQs
Even great deities contemplate Kāśī’s unique purity, highlighting its extraordinary power to sanctify and liberate.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is explicitly glorified as ‘supremely purifying’ (atīva pāvana).
No direct ritual is stated; the verse sets a narrative context of inquiry into Kāśī’s purifying principle.