Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 11
आनिनाय च तत्रैव सोप्य नन्निर्गतस्ततः । अथ विज्ञाय स मुनिस्तत्त्वं जीवितसूचितम्
ānināya ca tatraiva sopya nannirgatastataḥ | atha vijñāya sa munistattvaṃ jīvitasūcitam
അത് അതിനെ അവിടെയേ കൊണ്ടുവന്ന് വെച്ചു; അതും അവിടുനിന്ന് മാറിയില്ല. അപ്പോൾ മുനി ജീവൻ സംരക്ഷിക്കപ്പെടുന്നതിന്റെ സൂചനയായ തത്ത്വം ഗ്രഹിച്ചു.
Skanda (narration within Skanda–Agastya frame; deduced)
Tirtha: Gupta-liṅga-sthāna in Kāśī (implied)
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: The ant remains fixed at the spot; the sage’s face shifts to comprehension, hand raised in a gesture of ‘I understand’; the ground subtly glows, hinting at what lies beneath.
FAQs
Spiritual insight arises when one recognizes sacred signs; the kṣetra’s grace guides the seeker toward the hidden source of protection.
Kāśī-kṣetra in general, as a revelatory landscape where concealed forms of Śiva become known.
No explicit prescription appears yet; the verse prepares for the discovery and worship of the liṅga.