Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 39
क्षेत्रस्य तत्त्वमेतद्धि षट्त्रिंशल्लिंगरूप्यहो । एतेषां भजनात्पुंसां न भवेद्दुर्गतिः क्वचित्
kṣetrasya tattvametaddhi ṣaṭtriṃśalliṃgarūpyaho | eteṣāṃ bhajanātpuṃsāṃ na bhaveddurgatiḥ kvacit
ಈ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದ ತತ್ತ್ವವೇ ಇದು—ಅಹೋ! ಇದು ಷಟ್ತ್ರಿಂಶತ್ ಲಿಂಗರೂಪಗಳಿಂದ ಅದ್ಭುತವಾಗಿ ನಿರ್ಮಿತವಾಗಿದೆ. ಇವುಗಳನ್ನು ಭಜಿಸಿದವರಿಗೆ ಎಂದಿಗೂ ದುರ್ಗತಿ ಸಂಭವಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī as ‘Ṣaṭtriṃśal-liṅga-rūpā’ (36-liṅga-formed kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A panoramic Kāśī mandala where 36 liṅgas appear as luminous pillars across the city; a devotee’s path is protected by a radiant boundary, while shadowy figures symbolizing durgati dissolve at the edge of the light.
FAQs
Kāśī’s sacred structure is a living map of Śiva; devotion to its liṅga-forms protects and elevates one’s destiny.
The Kāśī kṣetra understood through its thirty-six liṅga manifestations.
Bhajana—devotional worship/reverence toward the thirty-six liṅga-forms of Kāśī.