Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 44
पुराविदः प्रशंसंति त्वां महामोहहारिणीम् । काशींत्विति न जानंति महामोहनभूरियम्
purāvidaḥ praśaṃsaṃti tvāṃ mahāmohahāriṇīm | kāśīṃtviti na jānaṃti mahāmohanabhūriyam
പുരാവിദ്യ അറിയുന്നവർ നിന്നെ ‘മഹാമോഹഹാരിണി’ എന്നു പുകഴ്ത്തുന്നു; എന്നാൽ ‘കാശീ’ എന്ന നിലയിൽ നിന്നെ അവർ അറിയുന്നില്ല—കാരണം ഇതു മഹാമോഹനത്തിന്റെ തന്നെ ഭൂമിയാണ്।
Śiva (Hara), reported by Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Agastya and sages (contextual)
Scene: Two-layer allegory: sages praising Kāśī as moha-hāriṇī while, beneath, Kāśī appears as a shimmering ground of māyā—temples and ghāṭas mirrored like illusions; Śiva’s presence stabilizes the scene.
FAQs
Kāśī’s sanctity is profound and paradoxical: it dispels delusion while also being a divine, awe-inducing power-field that transcends simple labels.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a whole—its deepest metaphysical status.
None; the verse offers a metaphysical characterization rather than a ritual injunction.