Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 26
एक एव हि कामोस्ति स्वर्गे सोप्यंगवर्जितः । सांगोपांगाश्च सर्वेषां सर्वे कामा हि तद्भुवि
eka eva hi kāmosti svarge sopyaṃgavarjitaḥ | sāṃgopāṃgāśca sarveṣāṃ sarve kāmā hi tadbhuvi
Au ciel, certes, il n’existe qu’une seule sorte de jouissance, et même celle-ci est incomplète ; mais dans ce royaume sur la terre, pour tous se trouvent tous les plaisirs désirés, complets avec chaque partie et chaque ornement.
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context typically Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśīkṣetra (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer figure typical of Kāśī-māhātmya dialogues (not explicit here)
Scene: Allegorical contrast: a narrow, uniform svarga pleasure scene (single motif) versus a rich Kāśī scene where diverse human aims—worship, learning, trade, family rites—appear harmonized around the Gaṅgā and temples.
FAQs
Worldly fulfillment is presented as most wholesome when supported by dharma—Kāśī becomes a model where prosperity is ‘complete’ rather than deficient.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is praised indirectly as the realm whose sanctity and dharmic order yield complete well-being.
None; the verse is descriptive, highlighting the fruit of dharmic order rather than a specific vrata, dāna, or snāna.