Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 30
धराधरेंद्रस्य धरातिसुंदरा न मां तथास्यापि धिनोति धूर्जटे । धरागतापीह न या ध्रुवंधरा पुरीधुरीणा तव काशिका यथा
dharādhareṃdrasya dharātisuṃdarā na māṃ tathāsyāpi dhinoti dhūrjaṭe | dharāgatāpīha na yā dhruvaṃdharā purīdhurīṇā tava kāśikā yathā
हे धूर्जटे! पर्वतराजाच्या अत्यंत सुंदर भूमीनेही मला तसा आनंद होत नाही; पृथ्वीवर असूनही तुझी श्रेष्ठ, अचल व अनुपम काशिका जसा आनंद देते तसा नाही।
Pārvatī
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śiva (Dhūrjaṭe)
Scene: A devotee addresses Dhūrjaṭa (Śiva), declaring that even the most beautiful mountain-lord’s realm cannot match Kāśī; Kāśī is envisioned as a steadfast, radiant city resting on earth yet transcending it.
FAQs
Spiritual preeminence outweighs mere natural beauty; Kāśī’s sanctity surpasses even the most splendid regions.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), called the foremost of cities.
None explicitly; the verse motivates devotion and pilgrimage by asserting Kāśī’s unmatched merit.