Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21
अन्यच्च चिंतितं ताभिर्योगिनीभिरिदं मुने । प्रभुं विनापि जीवामो न तु काशीं विना पुनः
anyacca ciṃtitaṃ tābhiryoginībhiridaṃ mune | prabhuṃ vināpi jīvāmo na tu kāśīṃ vinā punaḥ
Wahai muni, para Yoginī itu memikirkan satu lagi: “Tanpa tuan pun kami masih boleh hidup; tetapi tanpa Kāśī, sesungguhnya kami tidak mampu hidup lagi.”
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (typical)
Scene: Yoginīs in a tight circle, faces softened from hostility to yearning, gazing toward Kāśī’s luminous skyline—Viśvanātha spire and ghāṭa lamps—uttering their resolve that life without Kāśī is impossible.
FAQs
Kāśī is presented as spiritually indispensable—its sanctity surpasses ordinary dependencies and becomes the very ground of liberation-oriented life.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), exalted as irreplaceable even for powerful Yoginīs.
None explicitly; the emphasis is on Kāśī’s incomparable spiritual necessity.