Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 14
भवांतरा वर्जित पुण्यराशिं कृच्छैर्महद्भिर्ह्यवगम् यकाशीम् । प्राप्यापि किं मूढधियोन्यतो वै यियासवो दुर्गतिमुद्यियासवः
bhavāṃtarā varjita puṇyarāśiṃ kṛcchairmahadbhirhyavagam yakāśīm | prāpyāpi kiṃ mūḍhadhiyonyato vai yiyāsavo durgatimudyiyāsavaḥ
काशी ही पुण्याची निधी आहे; अनेक जन्मांतही जी सोडली जात नाही आणि महान कष्टांनीच प्राप्त होते. ती मिळूनही मूढबुद्धी लोक अन्यत्र का जावयास पाहतात—जणू दुर्गतीकडे धावण्यासच उत्सुक?
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A pilgrim stands at a ghat with travel bundle, hesitating to depart; a wise figure points toward the temple spire, while shadowy figures on a distant road symbolize ‘durgati’.
FAQs
What is gained through immense merit and struggle should be protected; abandoning Kāśī is portrayed as choosing spiritual decline.
Kāśī, praised as a hard-won refuge across lifetimes.
No specific rite; the emphasis is on perseverance, merit, and steadfastness in sacred geography.