Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35
योषापि न भवेदेष यतोसौ श्मश्रुलाननः । नपुंसकोपि न भवेल्लिंगमस्ययतोर्च्यते
yoṣāpi na bhavedeṣa yatosau śmaśrulānanaḥ | napuṃsakopi na bhavelliṃgamasyayatorcyate
તે સ્ત્રી પણ નથી, કારણ કે તેનું મુખ દાઢીથી યુક્ત છે. અને તે નપુંસક પણ નથી, કારણ કે તેનું લિંગ પૂજાય છે.
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Viśvanātha-liṅga (Kāśī)
Type: temple
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame; not explicit)
Scene: Close view of a liṅga shrine in Kāśī: priests offer bilva leaves, water, and lamps; above, a faint anthropomorphic Śiva visage with beard appears in aura, while the liṅga remains the primary object of worship.
FAQs
Divinity cannot be reduced to human gender categories; Śiva is worshipped through the liṅga while remaining beyond ordinary classifications.
The Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s overarching sacred geography is Kāśī; this verse supports Śaiva worship central to Kāśī rather than a named tīrtha.
Implicitly references liṅga-arcana (worship of the liṅga), without detailing procedures.