Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 16
काशीं प्रकाशीं कृतपुण्यराशिं हा शीघ्रनाशी विसृजेन्नरः किम् । नूनं स्वनूनं सुकृतं तदीयं मदीयमेवं विवृणोति चेतः
kāśīṃ prakāśīṃ kṛtapuṇyarāśiṃ hā śīghranāśī visṛjennaraḥ kim | nūnaṃ svanūnaṃ sukṛtaṃ tadīyaṃ madīyamevaṃ vivṛṇoti cetaḥ
Mengapa insan fana—aduh, yang cepat binasa—meninggalkan Kāśī yang bercahaya, khazanah timbunan pahala kebajikan? Sesungguhnya hatinya sendiri menyatakan: “Pahala itu milik mereka, bukan milikku.”
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: A pilgrim at the edge of Kāśī hesitates to depart; the city glows (‘prakāśī’) with ghāṭs and lamps, while an inner voice (cetas) appears as a subtle figure pointing back toward the sacred skyline.
FAQs
Because life is fleeting, one should not abandon a liberation-oriented sacred place; leaving it signals inner unworthiness or loss of merit.
Kāśī, described as radiant and merit-rich.
No explicit prescription; the teaching is ethical-existential: do not waste the rare attainment of Kāśī.