Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 46
त्वाष्ट्र उवाच । तदानंदवनं शंभोः क्वास्ति तापससत्तम । यत्र नो दुर्लभं किंचित्साधकानां त्रयीस्थितम्
tvāṣṭra uvāca | tadānaṃdavanaṃ śaṃbhoḥ kvāsti tāpasasattama | yatra no durlabhaṃ kiṃcitsādhakānāṃ trayīsthitam
Tvāṣṭra dit : «Ô le plus excellent des ascètes, où se trouve cet Ānandavana de Śambhu ? Là, pour les sādhaka établis dans la voie védique, rien n’est vraiment difficile à obtenir.»
Tvāṣṭra
Tirtha: Ānandavana (within Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: a tapasvin addressed as ‘tāpasasattama’
Scene: A questioning Tvāṣṭra addresses a venerable tapasvin, asking the whereabouts of Śambhu’s Ānandavana—depicted as a luminous grove within Kāśī, with subtle hints of Vedic fires and ascetic life.
FAQs
Kāśī’s Ānandavana is portrayed as a uniquely potent field of sādhana where Vedic-aligned seekers find even rare attainments accessible by Śiva’s grace.
Ānandavana—Śiva’s sacred forest identified with Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa tradition.
No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes eligibility—being established in the Vedic path (trayī-sthitam) as the spiritual orientation.