Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5
क्षेत्रैकदेशवर्तिन्या ज्ञानवाप्याः कथां पराम् । श्रुत्वेमामिति मन्येहं गौरीहृदयनंदन
kṣetraikadeśavartinyā jñānavāpyāḥ kathāṃ parām | śrutvemāmiti manyehaṃ gaurīhṛdayanaṃdana
ഈ പുണ്യക്ഷേത്രത്തിലെ ഒരു ഭാഗത്ത് സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്ന ‘ജ്ഞാനവാപി’യുടെ ഈ പരമകഥ ശ്രവിച്ചിട്ട്, ഹേ ഗൗരീഹൃദയനന്ദന, ഞാൻ ഇങ്ങനെ തന്നെയെന്ന് കരുതുന്നു.
Agastya (deduced; addressing Skanda)
Tirtha: Jñānavāpī
Type: kund
Listener: Addressed to ‘Gaurīhṛdayānandana’ (Śiva) as vocative; broader audience includes Śikhiratha in the surrounding passage
Scene: After hearing the supreme story of Jñānavāpī, the speaker addresses ‘Gaurī-hṛdayānandana’ (Śiva) with renewed conviction; the well is envisioned as a luminous, knowledge-giving spring within Kāśī’s sacred quarter.
FAQs
Even a specific sub-region within Kāśī kṣetra can carry profound liberating significance when its māhātmya is heard.
Jñānavāpī (the ‘Well of Knowledge’) located within a part of Kāśī kṣetra.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse foregrounds hearing the kathā (māhātmya-śravaṇa).