Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 84
सीमाबहिर्गतमपि ज्ञेयं तीर्थमिदं शुभम् । मध्ये वाराणसि श्रेष्ठं मम सान्निध्यतो नरैः
sīmābahirgatamapi jñeyaṃ tīrthamidaṃ śubham | madhye vārāṇasi śreṣṭhaṃ mama sānnidhyato naraiḥ
Walau berada di luar batas, tempat yang mujur ini patut dikenal sebagai tīrtha. Namun di tengah Vārāṇasī, karena kehadiran-Ku yang khusus, ia menjadi yang paling utama bagi manusia.
Śiva (inferred from ‘mama sānnidhyataḥ’—self-referential divine presence; within Kāśī context Śiva often speaks through Skanda’s narration)
Tirtha: Vṛṣadhvaja-tīrtha
Type: ghat
Listener: Humans/pilgrims (naraiḥ) and the broader audience; also continuous address to pitṛs in the passage
Scene: A map-like sacred vision: Kāśī’s boundary line shown faintly, while the tīrtha glows at the center with a visible aura of divine presence, drawing pilgrims inward.
FAQs
A tīrtha’s sanctity is not limited by human boundaries; the highest holiness is where the Lord’s presence is most intimate.
Kāśī/Vārāṇasī itself—especially the ‘madhya’ (central) sacred zone where divine presence is declared supreme.
No explicit rite; it instructs recognition (jñeya) of the tīrtha and implies pilgrimage, reverence, and sacred bathing/visitation.