Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72
यथात्मविद्या विद्यानां स्त्रीणां गौरी यथोत्तमा । सर्वर्दवेगणानां च यथा त्वं पुरुषोत्तम
yathātmavidyā vidyānāṃ strīṇāṃ gaurī yathottamā | sarvardavegaṇānāṃ ca yathā tvaṃ puruṣottama
De même que la connaissance du Soi (ātma-vidyā) est la plus haute des sciences, et que Gaurī est la première parmi les femmes ; et de même que Toi, ô Puruṣottama, es suprême parmi toutes les cohortes divines — ainsi ce qui est loué est éminent par-dessus tout.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī (implied) / Gaṅgā-tīrtha (contextual lead-in)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Primary interlocutor of Kāśīkhaṇḍa (traditionally a rishi/assembly; chapter-context dependent)
Scene: A hymn-like tableau: personified Vidyā as a radiant ascetic insight (ātma-vidyā), Gaurī enthroned as the foremost śakti, and Puruṣottama presiding over divine hosts—an allegorical triad culminating in the implied supremacy of the sacred reality being praised.
FAQs
The text ranks spiritual excellences (self-knowledge, divine archetypes) to underscore the unsurpassed greatness of the praised sacred domain.
By the surrounding Gaṅgā-māhātmya context, the superiority being established pertains to Gaṅgā and her tīrtha-status in Kāśī.
No direct prescription; it is a doctrinal praise using theological exemplars.