Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 13
तरुरत्नंपारिजातः स्त्रीरत्नं सोर्वशी त्विह । नंदनं वनरत्नं च रत्नं मंदाकिनी ह्यपाम्
taruratnaṃpārijātaḥ strīratnaṃ sorvaśī tviha | naṃdanaṃ vanaratnaṃ ca ratnaṃ maṃdākinī hyapām
वृक्षांमध्ये रत्न पारिजात; येथे स्त्रियांमध्ये रत्न उर्वशी; वनांमध्ये रत्न नंदन; आणि जलांमध्ये रत्न मंदाकिनी।
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage-seeking interlocutor (traditional frame)
Scene: A composite heavenly tableau mapped onto Kāśī: a blossoming Pārijāta tree arches over the ghats; Urvaśī stands with graceful poise holding a lotus; behind, Nandana-like forest glows; a clear Mandākinī stream merges symbolically with the Ganga, suggesting celestial waters present in the kṣetra.
FAQs
The sacred realm is portrayed as containing the very ‘best-of-the-best’—suggesting that devotion in such a place yields unsurpassed merit.
Kāśī is being praised through the catalog of celestial jewels traditionally associated with heaven.
No explicit ritual; it is a māhātmya-style enumeration to inspire pilgrimage and reverence.