इत्याश्चर्यं समालोक्य प्राप्तोस्म्यत्र तवांतिकम् । किमिदं पूज्यते नाथ भवता भवतापहृत्
ityāścaryaṃ samālokya prāptosmyatra tavāṃtikam | kimidaṃ pūjyate nātha bhavatā bhavatāpahṛt
हे आश्चर्य पाहून मी येथे तुमच्या सान्निध्यात आलो आहे. हे नाथ, शरणागतांचे दुःख हरिणाऱ्या! तुम्ही कोणाची पूजा करता?
Sūrya (Ravi)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implied ‘atra’)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Sūrya, astonished, leans forward in reverence and asks: ‘What is worshipped by You here?’ Viṣṇu appears as the compassionate remover of suffering, serene and luminous, about to disclose a secret of the place.
Sacred wonder leads to sacred inquiry—questioning with devotion opens the door to higher truths.
Kāśī is the implied ‘here’; the narrative sets up the glorification of Śiva’s presence and worship in the Kṣetra.
No explicit prescription; it introduces the topic of whom and how the Lord worships in Kāśī.