Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 78
इत्थमाश्वास्य तां पत्नीं जगाम तपसे मुनिः । यत्र विश्वेश्वरः साक्षात्काशीनाथोधितिष्ठति
itthamāśvāsya tāṃ patnīṃ jagāma tapase muniḥ | yatra viśveśvaraḥ sākṣātkāśīnāthodhitiṣṭhati
Ainsi, après avoir rassuré son épouse, le sage s’en alla pratiquer l’austérité, vers le lieu où Viśveśvara en personne, Seigneur de Kāśī, demeure en présence manifeste.
Narrator (third-person within Kāśīkhaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Viśveśvara (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (frame assumed)
Scene: The sage departs after consoling his wife, walking toward Kāśī’s sacred precincts; ahead rises the Viśveśvara shrine, with Gaṅgā ghāṭs and temple spires, conveying ‘manifest presence’.
FAQs
Austerity becomes fruitful when directed toward Śiva’s living presence; Kāśī is presented as a uniquely potent field for tapas and divine encounter.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), specifically Viśveśvara/Kāśīnātha—Śiva’s supreme presence in the city.
Tapas (austerity) is indicated as the practice undertaken in Kāśī before Viśveśvara.