Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 96
मंत्रःसुरद्रुमसमः समस्तसुखसंततिप्रदो जप्यः । तिथिभिः परिमितवर्णः परमपदं दिशति निशितधियाम्
maṃtraḥsuradrumasamaḥ samastasukhasaṃtatiprado japyaḥ | tithibhiḥ parimitavarṇaḥ paramapadaṃ diśati niśitadhiyām
यह मंत्र कल्पवृक्ष के समान है, जो समस्त सुखों की अविच्छिन्न परंपरा देता है; इसका जप करना चाहिए। इसके वर्ण तिथियों के अनुसार परिमित हैं; तीक्ष्ण बुद्धि वालों को यह परम पद प्रदान करता है।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśī Khaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implied)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A sādhaka seated on a ghāṭa in Kāśī at dawn, rosary in hand, with a luminous wish-fulfilling tree (kalpavṛkṣa) appearing behind him; lunar tithis shown as a subtle halo of phases around the mantra syllables; the river and temples form the sacred backdrop.
FAQs
Steady mantra-recitation, done with understanding and proper discipline, leads the seeker toward the supreme goal.
The broader context is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, though this verse focuses on mantra-mahātmyā rather than a named tīrtha.
Japa of a mantra whose syllabic count is regulated in relation to tithis (lunar dates).