Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5
स्कंद उवाच । वाराणस्यां महाभाग यथा ते प्रेम वर्तते । तथा न कस्यचिन्मन्ये ततो वक्ष्याम्यशेषतः
skaṃda uvāca | vārāṇasyāṃ mahābhāga yathā te prema vartate | tathā na kasyacinmanye tato vakṣyāmyaśeṣataḥ
स्कंद म्हणाले—हे महाभाग! वाराणसीविषयी तुझ्या अंतःकरणात जसे प्रेम आहे, तसे दुसऱ्या कोणातही मला दिसत नाही. म्हणून मी तुला सर्व काही निःशेषपणे सांगतो।
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), Avimukta-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: A ‘mahābhāga’ devotee/sage (unnamed in this verse)
Scene: Skanda, in a calm teaching posture, addresses a fortunate sage/devotee whose heart is fixed on Kāśī; the city’s ghāṭas and a distant Viśveśvara spire suggest the subject of the discourse.
FAQs
Deep love for a sacred place like Kāśī is itself a sign of grace, and it invites fuller teaching about its Māhātmya.
Vārāṇasī—also called Kāśī—presented as uniquely worthy of devotion.
No specific rite is prescribed here; it introduces an upcoming complete exposition of Kāśī’s greatness.