Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 70
यथाश्वमेधो यज्ञानां नगानां हिमवान्यथा । व्रतानां च यथा सत्यं दानानामभयं यथा
yathāśvamedho yajñānāṃ nagānāṃ himavānyathā | vratānāṃ ca yathā satyaṃ dānānāmabhayaṃ yathā
Assim como o Aśvamedha é o principal entre os yajña, e Himavān entre as montanhas; assim como a verdade é a primeira entre os votos, e a destemor entre as dádivas—do mesmo modo, o tīrtha louvado é preeminente.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī-Gaṅgā tīrtha (implied ‘praśasta tīrtha’)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience
Scene: A symbolic tableau: Aśvamedha horse and altar, towering Himālaya, a figure embodying Satya, and a donor embodying Abhaya—arranged as emblems pointing toward the supreme tīrtha.
FAQs
Dharma has recognized pinnacles—certain acts and virtues stand as exemplars, used here to assert the supreme status of the praised sacred context.
By context of Adhyāya 27, the Gaṅgā-tīrtha in Kāśī is being elevated through a chain of ‘foremost among’ comparisons.
Abhaya-dāna (granting protection/fearlessness) is highlighted as a foremost form of giving; satya is upheld as a chief vow.