Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12
मासि मासि यदाप्येत व्रताच्चांद्रायणात्फलम् । अन्यत्र तदिहाप्येत भूतायां नक्तभोजनात्
māsi māsi yadāpyeta vratāccāṃdrāyaṇātphalam | anyatra tadihāpyeta bhūtāyāṃ naktabhojanāt
Quelque fruit que l’on obtienne ailleurs, mois après mois, par le vœu du Cāndrāyaṇa, ici, au mois de Bhūtā (Bhādrapada), on l’acquiert simplement en ne mangeant que la nuit.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta) in Bhādrapada (Bhūtā-māsa)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Night in Kāśī: lamps along ghāṭas, a devotee takes a simple meal after evening worship; above, a subtle celestial scale motif indicating ‘Cāndrāyaṇa fruit’ attained through naktabhojana in Bhādrapada.
FAQs
Kāśī amplifies spiritual practices: simpler observances there can yield results equal to rigorous vows performed elsewhere.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is praised as a merit-multiplying kṣetra where vratas become especially efficacious.
Nakta-bhojana (taking food only at night) during the month called Bhūtā, said to match the fruit of Cāndrāyaṇa performed elsewhere.