Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9
दिलीप उवाच । वज्रलेपश्च काश्यां तु घोरो यत्र विनश्यति । कृत्स्नशोऽथ महापुण्यं प्राप्यं यत्र तदस्ति किम्
dilīpa uvāca | vajralepaśca kāśyāṃ tu ghoro yatra vinaśyati | kṛtsnaśo'tha mahāpuṇyaṃ prāpyaṃ yatra tadasti kim
Dilīpa dit : « Si, à Kāśī, ce terrible vajralepa est détruit, quel est donc ce lieu où l’on obtient, en pleine mesure, le grand mérite ? »
Dilīpa
Tirtha: Kāśī (as reference point)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Vasiṣṭha (addressed as dvijottama)
Scene: A royal inquirer (Dilīpa) respectfully questions a sage about a supreme kṣetra surpassing even Kāśī in granting complete great merit; background hints of sacred cityscape and river ghāṭas.
FAQs
True seekers move from hearsay of purification to earnest inquiry—searching for the most complete attainment of puṇya and liberation-oriented merit.
Kāśī is praised for destroying vajralepa, while the verse also opens inquiry into an even higher or more complete source of merit.
No direct ritual is stated; it models dharmic questioning and the pursuit of the highest tīrtha-benefit.