Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 84
सप्तानां च पुरीणां हि धुरी णामवयाम्यहम् । वाराणसीं सुनिर्वाणविश्राणनविचक्षणाम्
saptānāṃ ca purīṇāṃ hi dhurī ṇāmavayāmyaham | vārāṇasīṃ sunirvāṇaviśrāṇanavicakṣaṇām
सात पवित्र पुरियों में मैं वाराणसी को अग्रणी घोषित करता हूँ—जो परम निर्वाण (अंतिम मुक्ति) प्रदान करने में निपुण है।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse)
Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A formal proclamation scene: a sage-like figure points toward a radiant Vārāṇasī rising above the Gaṅgā, while seven sacred cities appear as symbolic emblems, with Kāśī enthroned at the center as the giver of nirvāṇa.
FAQs
Kāśī is proclaimed pre-eminent among the most sacred cities because it is uniquely potent for final liberation.
Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), singled out as the leader among the seven sacred cities (sapta-purī).
No specific rite is prescribed; the verse functions as a doctrinal ranking within tīrtha-māhātmya.