Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 27
ईश्वर उवाच । अयि काशीत्यष्टमूर्तिर्भवो भावाष्टकोभवत् । सत्वरं शिवयाज्ञायि ध्रुवं काश्याहृतोहरः
īśvara uvāca | ayi kāśītyaṣṭamūrtirbhavo bhāvāṣṭakobhavat | satvaraṃ śivayājñāyi dhruvaṃ kāśyāhṛtoharaḥ
ಈಶ್ವರನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಹೇ ಶಿವಯಾಜ್ಞಾಯಿ! ‘ಕಾಶೀ!’ ಎಂಬ ಉಚ್ಚಾರಣೆಯಾದ ಕ್ಷಣದಲ್ಲೇ ಭವ (ಶಿವ) ಅಷ್ಟಮೂರ್ತಿಯಾಗಿ, ಭಾವದ ಅಷ್ಟಕ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಕಾಶಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ, ಹೇ ಶಿವವಿದೆ, ಹರನು ನಿಶ್ಚಯವಾಗಿ ತಕ್ಷಣ ಕಾಶಿಯ ಕಡೆಗೆ ಆಕರ್ಷಿತನಾಗುತ್ತಾನೆ.
Śiva (Īśvara)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (frame, implied)
Scene: Śiva speaks with authority; the word ‘Kāśī’ appears as luminous syllables; around him, eightfold cosmic aspects subtly radiate—elements, luminaries, directions—signaling aṣṭamūrti awakening.
FAQs
The very name of Kāśī is spiritually potent; remembrance of Kāśī aligns one with Śiva’s cosmic presence (aṣṭamūrti).
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), portrayed as uniquely magnetic to Śiva and thus supremely sanctifying.
Implicitly, nāma-smaraṇa (remembrance/utterance of ‘Kāśī’) is praised as spiritually efficacious.
Read Skanda Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.