Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 167
स सर्वतीर्थसुस्नातः स सर्वक्रतुदीक्षितः । स दत्तसर्वदानस्तु काशी येन निषेविता
sa sarvatīrthasusnātaḥ sa sarvakratudīkṣitaḥ | sa dattasarvadānastu kāśī yena niṣevitā
ज्याने काशीचे सम्यक् सेवन केले, तोच जणू सर्व तीर्थांत उत्तम स्नान केलेला, सर्व यज्ञांत दीक्षित झालेला आणि सर्व प्रकारची दाने दिलेली असतो।
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrims/seekers hearing Kāśī’s greatness
Scene: A panoramic Kāśī: pilgrims bathing at dawn, others offering lamps, some giving alms, and a central axis leading to Viśvanātha—above them, symbolic icons of many sacrifices and tīrthas dissolve into the single radiance of Kāśī.
FAQs
Serving Kāśī is portrayed as a supreme, concentrated merit that equals the fruits of many pilgrimages, sacrifices, and charities.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) itself is glorified as a preeminent tīrtha and mokṣa-kṣetra.
Not a single ritual, but a promise of fruit: resorting to Kāśī grants the merit of all tīrtha-bathing, sacrificial initiations, and all forms of dāna.