Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 44
उपविश्य समीपे ते प्रक्ष्यत्येवमनुक्रमात् । कोसि त्वं किमिहासि त्वं द्वितीय इव कस्त्वयम्
upaviśya samīpe te prakṣyatyevamanukramāt | kosi tvaṃ kimihāsi tvaṃ dvitīya iva kastvayam
तुझ्या जवळ बसून तो क्रमाने विचारेल— “तू कोण आहेस? इथे कशासाठी आला आहेस? आणि तुझ्या शेजारी हा दुसऱ्यासारखा कोण, जणू दुसरा आत्माच?”
Skanda (narrating; deduced)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame) / pilgrim addressed within episode
Scene: An aged ascetic sits close to a traveling couple at a Kāśī shrine courtyard, beginning a formal, gentle interrogation—‘Who are you, why here, who is this companion?’—with the liṅga-temple in the background.
FAQs
In a tīrtha, seekers are tested through inquiry—identity, intention, and companionship are examined as part of dharma.
Kāśī is the narrative setting; the verse frames a saintly interrogation within the sacred precincts.
None; it establishes the purāṇic dialogue structure that leads to teaching about the shrine and liṅga.