Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 96
शिष्या ऊचुः । शृण्वंत्वाराध्यचरणा नोपसर्गोत्र कश्चन । नान्नक्षयो वा सर्वस्यां नगर्यामिह कुत्रचित्
śiṣyā ūcuḥ | śṛṇvaṃtvārādhyacaraṇā nopasargotra kaścana | nānnakṣayo vā sarvasyāṃ nagaryāmiha kutracit
ശിഷ്യർ പറഞ്ഞു—ആരാധ്യപാദങ്ങളേ, കേൾക്കുക; ഇവിടെ യാതൊരു ഉപസർഗ്ഗവും ഇല്ല, ഈ മുഴുവൻ നഗരിയിലും എവിടെയും അന്നക്ഷാമമില്ല।
Disciples of Vyāsa
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Guru (addressed as ārādhya-caraṇa)
Scene: Disciples stand before the guru with folded hands, confidently reporting: no affliction, no food scarcity anywhere in the city; background shows abundant markets and calm households.
FAQs
Kāśī is portrayed as protected; when hardship appears, its cause may be subtle rather than material calamity.
Kāśī/Vārāṇasī as a city free from common afflictions in the purāṇic imagination.
None; the verse is a report about the city’s well-being.