Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12
शिवभक्ताय शांताय विष्णुभक्तिपराय च । श्रद्धालवे त्वास्तिकाय गर्भवासमुपुक्षवे
śivabhaktāya śāṃtāya viṣṇubhaktiparāya ca | śraddhālave tvāstikāya garbhavāsamupukṣave
हे शांतस्वभाव शिवभक्त व विष्णुभक्तीत परायण अशा भक्तासाठी आहे; श्रद्धावान, आस्तिक आणि गर्भवासबंधन (पुनर्जन्म)ातून मुक्तीची इच्छा धरणाऱ्यासाठी।
Skanda
Tirtha: Gaṅgā in Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (typical Purāṇic frame)
Scene: A serene devotee seated on a clean ghat in Kāśī, mind stilled, holding rudrākṣa and tulasī mala together, facing the flowing Gaṅgā with distant Viśveśvara spire; the verse’s ‘eligibility’ is shown as inner calm and faith rather than spectacle.
FAQs
Esoteric teachings are intended for the faithful and disciplined—those oriented to devotion and liberation.
Gaṅgā’s teaching-context in Kāśī; the verse focuses on the qualified recipient rather than a new location.
A qualification rule: the forthcoming ‘rahasya’ should be given to a śraddhālu āstika devoted to Śiva (and also Viṣṇu).