Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 74
परातनुरियं काशी विश्वेशस्येति निश्चितम् । अस्याः संसेवनाच्छंभुर्न कुप्यति पुरो मयि
parātanuriyaṃ kāśī viśveśasyeti niścitam | asyāḥ saṃsevanācchaṃbhurna kupyati puro mayi
‘આ કાશી વિશ્વેશ્વરનું પરમ દેહ જ છે’—એ નિશ્ચિત છે. તેની ભક્તિપૂર્વક સેવા કરવાથી શંભુ મારા પર, પોતાના સમક્ષ, રોષે ભરાતા નથી.
Skanda (deduced; verse reads like Brahmā’s realization within narration)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta) as Viśveśvara’s parātanu
Type: kshetra
Scene: A visionary tableau where the map of Kāśī overlays a cosmic Śiva-form: ghāṭas as ornaments, temples as chakras/limbs; Brahmā contemplates this certainty, feeling protected from Śiva’s displeasure through kṣetra-sevā.
FAQs
Kāśī is not merely a city but a divine embodiment of Viśveśvara; serving the kṣetra is itself a way of pleasing Śiva.
Kāśī as Viśveśvara’s own ‘parā tanu’ (supreme embodiment), encompassing her tīrthas and sacred precincts.
Saṃsevanā—devoted resorting to and service of Kāśī (kṣetra-sevā), a devotional discipline rather than a single ritual act.