Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53
सोमनंदी नंदिषेणः कालपिंगलकुक्कुटाः । तेद्यापि न निवर्तंते काश्यां जीवामृता यथा
somanaṃdī naṃdiṣeṇaḥ kālapiṃgalakukkuṭāḥ | tedyāpi na nivartaṃte kāśyāṃ jīvāmṛtā yathā
സോമനന്ദീ, നന്ദിഷേണ, കാലപിംഗല-കുക്കുട—ആ ഗണങ്ങൾ ഇന്നും കാശി വിട്ടുപോകുന്നില്ല; ജീവാമൃതംപോലെ അമരരായതുപോലെ.
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration-context)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: Three named gaṇas—Somanandī, Nandiṣeṇa, and Kālapīṅgala-Kukkuṭa—stand as timeless guardians within Kāśī, radiant and unaging, amid temple spires and ghats.
FAQs
Kāśī is depicted as a realm of enduring sanctity where Śiva’s attendants abide, suggesting deathlessness through proximity to the sacred.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is directly glorified as the abiding place of Śiva’s gaṇas.
None; the verse is primarily a sthala-mahātmya statement about who remains present in Kāśī.