Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1
अगस्त्य उवाच । दृष्ट्वा काशीं दृगानंदां तारकारे पुरारिणा । किमकारि समाचक्ष्व प्राप्तां बहुमनोरथैः
agastya uvāca | dṛṣṭvā kāśīṃ dṛgānaṃdāṃ tārakāre purāriṇā | kimakāri samācakṣva prāptāṃ bahumanorathaiḥ
અગસ્ત્યે કહ્યું—તારકારમાં ત્રિપુરારી (શિવ) દ્વારા નેત્રોને આનંદ આપનારી કાશીનું દર્શન કરીને, અનેક મનોભાવનાઓ પછી તેને પ્રાપ્ત થયા બાદ શું કરવામાં આવ્યું—મને કહો।
Agastya
Tirtha: Kāśī (with Tārakāra-sthāna)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Skanda
Scene: Agastya, staff in hand, stands at a vantage point overlooking Kāśī’s ghāṭs; Śiva as Tripurāri is suggested near a shrine named Tārakāra; Agastya turns to Skanda with folded hands, asking what actions were performed after the long-awaited arrival.
FAQs
True pilgrimage culminates not only in seeing the holy place but in understanding the divine actions and meanings revealed there.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), introduced as a vision of sacred beauty and fulfillment of long-held spiritual desires.
No explicit rite is prescribed in this verse; it opens a narrative inquiry about what was done upon reaching Kāśī.