Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2
तथा दृष्टप्रभावश्चेत्तथा चेज्ज्ञानिनां वरः । पुरीं वाराणसीं श्रेष्ठां कथं किल शपिष्यति
tathā dṛṣṭaprabhāvaścettathā cejjñānināṃ varaḥ | purīṃ vārāṇasīṃ śreṣṭhāṃ kathaṃ kila śapiṣyati
Dan jika kekuatan beliau memang telah disaksikan, dan jika beliau benar-benar yang terunggul dalam kalangan para arif—bagaimanakah mungkin beliau akan menyumpahi kota Vārāṇasī yang paling mulia itu?
Agastya
Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Skanda
Scene: Agastya emphasizes Vyāsa’s proven power and wisdom, gesturing toward an imagined vision of Vārāṇasī’s luminous ghats and temples, underscoring the paradox of any ‘curse’ against it.
FAQs
Kāśī’s supremacy is assumed so strongly that even a great sage’s curse appears inconceivable—highlighting the city’s sanctity.
Vārāṇasī (Kāśī) itself is praised as the ‘श्रेष्ठा पुरी’—the foremost sacred city.
None explicitly; the verse raises a theological question about the status of Kāśī.