Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 42
यानि यानि च रूपाणि यत्रयत्र च तेनघ । तानि तत्र प्रवक्ष्यामि शृण्वंत्वेते दिवौकसः
yāni yāni ca rūpāṇi yatrayatra ca tenagha | tāni tatra pravakṣyāmi śṛṇvaṃtvete divaukasaḥ
ഹേ നിർഘ! അവൻ ഏത് ഏത് രൂപങ്ങൾ ധരിക്കയും എവിടെയെവിടെയായി വസിക്കയും ചെയ്യുന്നു, അവയെല്ലാം ഞാൻ അവിടവിടെ വിശദമായി പറയും—ദിവൗകസർ (ദേവഗണം) കേൾക്കട്ടെ.
Narratorial voice within Kāśī-khaṇḍa (Skanda speaking in the Skanda-to-Agastya frame is most consistent)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (micro-tīrtha enumeration preface)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Primary interlocutor addressed as 'anagha'; devas are explicitly invited to listen
Scene: A narrator prepares to enumerate the deity’s many forms and their precise abodes; devas gather as attentive listeners, suggesting a celestial assembly hovering over Kāśī’s sacred map.
FAQs
Hearing the māhātmya—divine forms and their sacred locations—strengthens faith and guides pilgrimage.
Kāśī’s sacred landscape in general, where divine forms are established.
Śravaṇa (devotional listening) is implied as a meritorious act, though no formal vow is detailed.