Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 47
वरं हि काश्यां तृणवृक्षगुल्मकाश्चरंति पापं न चरंति नान्यतः । वयं चराणां प्रथमा धिगस्तु नो वाराणसींहाद्य विहाय गच्छतः
varaṃ hi kāśyāṃ tṛṇavṛkṣagulmakāścaraṃti pāpaṃ na caraṃti nānyataḥ | vayaṃ carāṇāṃ prathamā dhigastu no vārāṇasīṃhādya vihāya gacchataḥ
“Sesungguhnya lebih baik rumput, pepohon dan semak di Kāśī: mereka ‘berkeliaran’ (hidup) di sana dan tidak pergi ke tempat lain. Tetapi kami, yang terdepan antara para pengembara—malulah kami—hari ini meninggalkan Vārāṇasī lalu pergi menjauh.”
Agastya (deduced from surrounding lament and departure sequence)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and sages
Scene: A pilgrim-sage at Kāśī’s edge looks back with tears, comparing himself unfavorably to grasses and trees that remain rooted in the holy city; the city’s skyline and ghats glow behind.
FAQs
Kāśī is so spiritually supreme that even remaining there is itself a blessing; abandoning it is portrayed as a painful loss.
Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), praised as the unsurpassed sacred city.
No explicit ritual; the implied counsel is vāsa (dwelling) in Kāśī as a potent spiritual practice.