Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79
वरं वाराणसीरंको निःशंकोयो यमादपि । न वयं त्रिदशायेषां गिरितोपीदृशी दशा
varaṃ vārāṇasīraṃko niḥśaṃkoyo yamādapi | na vayaṃ tridaśāyeṣāṃ giritopīdṛśī daśā
वाराणसीत दरिद्री असलो तरी यमालाही न घाबरता निःशंक राहणे श्रेष्ठ आहे; अन्यत्र पर्वतावर देवांचा अधिपती असलो तरी अशी दशा—असा सुखभाव—मिळत नाही।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A poor pilgrim in Kāśī stands serene near Maṇikarṇikā/ghāṭa fires; a shadowy Yama figure recedes powerless. In contrast, a glittering deva-lord on a mountain appears distant yet bound by anxiety.
FAQs
Material status is secondary; dwelling in Kāśī grants spiritual fearlessness and security superior to exalted heavenly positions.
Vārāṇasī/Kāśī, praised as a place where even the fear of Yama is dispelled.
None; the verse emphasizes the value of Kāśīvāsa itself as the highest choice.