Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 50
इत्थं विलप्य बहुशः स मुनिस्त्वगस्त्यस्तत्क्रौंचयुग्मवदहो अबलासहायः । मूर्च्छामवाप महतीं विरही वजल्पन्हाकाशिकाशि पुनरेहि च देहि दृष्टिम्
itthaṃ vilapya bahuśaḥ sa munistvagastyastatkrauṃcayugmavadaho abalāsahāyaḥ | mūrcchāmavāpa mahatīṃ virahī vajalpanhākāśikāśi punarehi ca dehi dṛṣṭim
Demikian ia meratap berkali-kali; sang resi Agastya—duhai, bagaikan seekor dari sepasang burung krauñca, kehilangan pendamping—dilanda pedih perpisahan, jatuh dalam pingsan yang besar, sambil berseru: “Ha Kāśī, ha Kāśī—kembalilah lagi dan anugerahkan kepadaku pandanganmu!”
Narrator (explicitly naming Agastya within the verse)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and sages
Scene: Agastya, alone and overwhelmed, collapses in a swoon at the thought of leaving Kāśī; the scene overlays the image of a krauñca bird crying for its lost mate, while the sacred city shimmers in the distance like a receding vision.
FAQs
Love for a sacred place is portrayed as devotional longing; Kāśī is so holy that separation from it becomes a profound spiritual grief.
Kāśī/Vārāṇasī itself, as an object of darśana and devotion.
Darśana-longing is emphasized rather than a formal rite: the devotee prays to behold Kāśī again.