Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 30
मया व्यधायि बहुधा सृष्टिः सृष्टिं वितन्वता । परमन्यादृशी काशी स्वयं विश्वेश निर्मितिः
mayā vyadhāyi bahudhā sṛṣṭiḥ sṛṣṭiṃ vitanvatā | paramanyādṛśī kāśī svayaṃ viśveśa nirmitiḥ
സൃഷ്ടിയെ വിപുലീകരിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് ഞാൻ പലവിധ സൃഷ്ടികൾ നിർമിച്ചു; എന്നാൽ കാശി സർവ്വഥാ വ്യത്യസ്തം—അത് സ്വയം വിശ്വേശ്വരൻ (ശിവൻ) നിർമിച്ച പുണ്യനഗരമാണ്।
Brahmā (Vedhā)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Implied audience of the Kāśī-māhātmya (traditionally sages/seekers)
Scene: Cosmic creator Brahmā contemplates the vastness of his manifold creations, yet beholds Kāśī as singular—radiant, self-luminous, stamped with Viśveśvara’s presence; the city appears as a sacred mandala on the Gaṅgā’s curve.
FAQs
Kāśī’s holiness is presented as ontological—its very origin is attributed to Śiva, making it incomparable among sacred places.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), explicitly distinguished as Viśveśa’s own making.
None; the verse provides a theological basis for Kāśī’s supreme sanctity.