Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 7
स्कंद उवाच । आकर्णय मुने वच्मि कथां कल्मषहारिणीम् । पुरश्चरणकामोसौ दक्षः काशीं समाययौ
skaṃda uvāca | ākarṇaya mune vacmi kathāṃ kalmaṣahāriṇīm | puraścaraṇakāmosau dakṣaḥ kāśīṃ samāyayau
സ്കന്ദൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ മുനേ, കേൾക്കുക; മലിനത നീക്കുന്ന കഥ ഞാൻ പറയുന്നു. പുരശ്ചരണം ചെയ്യുവാൻ ആഗ്രഹിച്ചു ആ ദക്ഷൻ കാശിയിലേക്കു വന്നു.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (as locus for puraścaraṇa and kathā-śravaṇa)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Muni (unnamed in this verse)
Scene: Skanda, as divine teacher, addresses a sage: ‘Listen, I will tell a impurity-destroying story.’ In the narrative frame, Dakṣa arrives at Kāśī intent on puraścaraṇa—pilgrim’s resolve meeting the city’s sanctity.
FAQs
Kāśī is portrayed as a supreme purifier, and disciplined practice (puraścaraṇa) undertaken there supports deep spiritual cleansing.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the kṣetra where impurity is removed and Śiva-related worship bears swift fruit.
Puraścaraṇa—structured preparatory worship (commonly japa with vows/observances)—is explicitly referenced.