Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54
श्रीविष्णुरुवाच । देवदेवो महादेवो नीलकंठ उमापतिः । एक एव हि पूज्योत्र सर्वकारणकारणम्
śrīviṣṇuruvāca | devadevo mahādevo nīlakaṃṭha umāpatiḥ | eka eva hi pūjyotra sarvakāraṇakāraṇam
Śrī Viṣṇu bersabda: “Dewa para dewa—Mahādeva, Nīlakaṇṭha, junjungan Umā—Dialah satu-satunya yang patut dipuja di sini, sebab Ia adalah sebab di balik segala sebab.”
Viṣṇu
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: Viṣṇu speaks with folded palms or composed authority, proclaiming Mahādeva—blue-throated, with Umā—as the sole worship-worthy lord of Kāśī; the background suggests the sanctified city and a liṅga radiating stillness.
FAQs
In Kāśī, the highest worship culminates in Mahādeva—Śiva is praised as the ultimate causal ground.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a Śaiva-uttama-kṣetra, where Śiva’s worship is declared paramount.
The prescription is doctrinal: worship (pūjā) here should be directed to Mahādeva, the supreme cause.