Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 32
सदप्सरा यथास्वर्भूस्तत्पुर्यपिसदप्सराः । एकैव पद्मा वैकुंठे तस्य पद्माकराः शतम्
sadapsarā yathāsvarbhūstatpuryapisadapsarāḥ | ekaiva padmā vaikuṃṭhe tasya padmākarāḥ śatam
De même que le ciel a des apsaras toujours présentes, de même cette cité a des apsaras sans cesse ; à Vaikuṇṭha il n’y a qu’une seule Padmā, mais pour lui il y a cent lacs de lotus.
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context typically Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (sarovara/puṣkariṇī imagery)
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: Lotus-filled lakes within Kāśī, with graceful celestial dancers (apsarases) present as if in svarga; a small Vaikuṇṭha vignette shows a single Padmā/Lakṣmī, contrasted with ‘a hundred’ lotus-lakes around Kāśī’s sacred precincts.
FAQs
The mahātmya amplifies Kāśī’s excellence by claiming that what is rare in celestial worlds becomes plentiful in the sacred city.
Kāśī is implied; the verse praises its city-life and abundance through comparisons to Svarga and Vaikuṇṭha.
None; the verse is purely eulogistic, not procedural.