Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21
तथेति भगवत्योक्त्वा गणाः प्रासादनिर्मितौ । सोमनंदि प्रभृतयो ऽसंख्या व्यापारिता मुने
tatheti bhagavatyoktvā gaṇāḥ prāsādanirmitau | somanaṃdi prabhṛtayo 'saṃkhyā vyāpāritā mune
“तथास्तु” कहकर देवी की आज्ञा मानकर गण मंदिर-निर्माण में लग गए। हे मुनि, सोमनन्दि आदि के नेतृत्व में असंख्य गण उस कार्य में नियुक्त हुए।
Narrator (Skanda, Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and sages (typical Nāimiṣāraṇya audience)
Scene: At the Goddess’s assent, hosts of gaṇas—led by Somanandin—begin raising a temple structure in Kāśī, carrying stones, gold plates, banners, and ritual tools in coordinated motion.
FAQs
Divine work in a sacred place is supported by divine forces, underscoring the sanctity of temple-building in Kāśī.
Kāśī, where the Ratneśvara shrine construction becomes part of the kṣetra’s sacred history.
No direct rite; it narrates organized construction of the prāsāda by Śiva’s gaṇas.