Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52
इत्याश्चर्यं समालोक्य प्राप्तोस्म्यत्र तवांतिकम् । किमिदं पूज्यते नाथ भवता भवतापहृत्
ityāścaryaṃ samālokya prāptosmyatra tavāṃtikam | kimidaṃ pūjyate nātha bhavatā bhavatāpahṛt
ਇਹ ਅਚੰਭਾ ਵੇਖ ਕੇ ਮੈਂ ਇੱਥੇ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਚਰਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਨੇੜੇ ਆਇਆ ਹਾਂ। ਹੇ ਨਾਥ, ਤੁਸੀਂ—ਸ਼ਰਨ ਆਏਆਂ ਦਾ ਦੁੱਖ ਹਰਣ ਵਾਲੇ—ਕਿਸ ਦੀ ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਦੇ ਹੋ?
Sūrya (Ravi)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implied ‘atra’)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Sūrya, astonished, leans forward in reverence and asks: ‘What is worshipped by You here?’ Viṣṇu appears as the compassionate remover of suffering, serene and luminous, about to disclose a secret of the place.
FAQs
Sacred wonder leads to sacred inquiry—questioning with devotion opens the door to higher truths.
Kāśī is the implied ‘here’; the narrative sets up the glorification of Śiva’s presence and worship in the Kṣetra.
No explicit prescription; it introduces the topic of whom and how the Lord worships in Kāśī.