Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 48
प्रासादस्यास्य जटिल स्वयंकारयिता शिवः । विशेषतोऽस्यलिंगस्य नाम नो वेद्मि निश्चितम्
prāsādasyāsya jaṭila svayaṃkārayitā śivaḥ | viśeṣato'syaliṃgasya nāma no vedmi niścitam
«Ô toi aux cheveux emmêlés, Śiva lui-même est l’artisan qui, de lui-même, a fait édifier ce sanctuaire. Mais, quant au nom précis de ce liṅga, je ne le connais pas avec certitude.»
King Vṛddhakāla (as quoted within Skanda’s narration)
Type: temple
Listener: Sages (frame) / aged tapasvin within episode
Scene: The king gestures to the temple and declares Śiva himself caused it to be made; the shrine appears timeless, as if emerged from the earth, while the liṅga’s specific name remains veiled.
FAQs
In Kāśī, the shrine’s sanctity is rooted in Śiva’s own power; human knowledge may be limited, but divine presence is certain.
A Kāśī liṅga-temple presented as divinely established (svayaṃkṛta/svayambhū in sense), within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting.
No direct ritual instruction; it asserts the divine authorship of the temple and sets up the forthcoming identification of the liṅga.