Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 110
चंद्रकांतशिलासुप्तकृष्णैणहरितोडुपम् । तरुप्रकीर्णकुसुम जितस्वर्लोकतारकम् । दर्शयन्नित्थमाक्रीडं देव्यै देवोविशद्वनम्
caṃdrakāṃtaśilāsuptakṛṣṇaiṇaharitoḍupam | taruprakīrṇakusuma jitasvarlokatārakam | darśayannitthamākrīḍaṃ devyai devoviśadvanam
Demikianlah Sang Dewa memperlihatkan kepada Sang Dewi rimba taman permainan itu: kepingan batu candrakānta berkilau seperti bintang kehijauan, seolah-olah kijang hitam tidur di atasnya; pepohon menabur bunga di merata tempat, mengatasi bintang-bintang svargaloka—begitu jernih dan suci hutan itu, demikianlah sinarnya.
Skanda
Type: kshetra
Scene: Śiva (Deva) leads Devī into a clear radiant forest: moonstone slabs gleam like greenish star-points; they resemble dark antelopes asleep; blossoms carpet the ground; the grove’s light seems to outshine the stars of heaven.
FAQs
Kāśī’s sanctity is so great that it is depicted as surpassing heaven itself; devotion is strengthened by contemplating the divine presence pervading the land.
A luminous ‘ākrīḍa’ (divine pleasure-grove) within the sacred sphere of Kāśī, presented in a Śiva–Devī context.
No direct ritual is specified; the verse is a climactic glorification of the sacred forest’s radiance and divinity.