Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 26
वरं तृणानि धान्यानि तानि वात्याहतान्यपि । काश्यां यान्या पतंतीह न जनाः काश्यदर्शनाः
varaṃ tṛṇāni dhānyāni tāni vātyāhatānyapi | kāśyāṃ yānyā pataṃtīha na janāḥ kāśyadarśanāḥ
കാറ്റിൽ അടിക്കപ്പെട്ടു ചിതറുന്ന പുല്ലുതണ്ടുകളോ ധാന്യകണങ്ങളോ പോലും ശ്രേഷ്ഠം; എന്നാൽ കാശിയിൽ വന്നിട്ടും കാശിയെ യഥാർത്ഥത്തിൽ ദർശിക്കാത്ത ജനങ്ങൾ അല്ല।
Skanda (deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: A bustling Kāśī street near a ghāṭa: pilgrims pass by distracted, eyes averted from the shrine; in the foreground, wind scatters grains and bends grass—yet these humble elements ‘participate’ in Kāśī’s sanctity. A subtle moral contrast is shown through light: the inattentive are in shadow, the grass/grains in a shaft of sacred light.
FAQs
Mere physical arrival in a holy place is not enough; one must have reverent darśana and inner recognition of Kāśī’s sanctity.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), with emphasis on Kāśī-darśana—truly beholding the sacred city.
No specific ritual is stated; the focus is on the essential spiritual disposition during pilgrimage.