Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 27
ईश्वर उवाच । अयि काशीत्यष्टमूर्तिर्भवो भावाष्टकोभवत् । सत्वरं शिवयाज्ञायि ध्रुवं काश्याहृतोहरः
īśvara uvāca | ayi kāśītyaṣṭamūrtirbhavo bhāvāṣṭakobhavat | satvaraṃ śivayājñāyi dhruvaṃ kāśyāhṛtoharaḥ
Īśvara dit : « Ô Śivayā, lorsque s’élève la seule profération “Kāśī !”, Bhava (Śiva) devient l’Être aux Huit Formes, se manifestant comme l’octuple état de l’être. Ainsi, ô connaisseuse de Śiva, Hara est assurément attiré sur-le-champ vers Kāśī. »
Śiva (Īśvara)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (frame, implied)
Scene: Śiva speaks with authority; the word ‘Kāśī’ appears as luminous syllables; around him, eightfold cosmic aspects subtly radiate—elements, luminaries, directions—signaling aṣṭamūrti awakening.
FAQs
The very name of Kāśī is spiritually potent; remembrance of Kāśī aligns one with Śiva’s cosmic presence (aṣṭamūrti).
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), portrayed as uniquely magnetic to Śiva and thus supremely sanctifying.
Implicitly, nāma-smaraṇa (remembrance/utterance of ‘Kāśī’) is praised as spiritually efficacious.