Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 27
ईश्वर उवाच । अयि काशीत्यष्टमूर्तिर्भवो भावाष्टकोभवत् । सत्वरं शिवयाज्ञायि ध्रुवं काश्याहृतोहरः
īśvara uvāca | ayi kāśītyaṣṭamūrtirbhavo bhāvāṣṭakobhavat | satvaraṃ śivayājñāyi dhruvaṃ kāśyāhṛtoharaḥ
Īśvara disse: «Ó Śivayā, quando surge a própria enunciação “Kāśī!”, Bhava (Śiva) torna-se o de Oito Formas, manifestando-se como o estado óctuplo do ser. Por isso, ó conhecedora de Śiva, Hara é certamente atraído de imediato para Kāśī».
Śiva (Īśvara)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (frame, implied)
Scene: Śiva speaks with authority; the word ‘Kāśī’ appears as luminous syllables; around him, eightfold cosmic aspects subtly radiate—elements, luminaries, directions—signaling aṣṭamūrti awakening.
FAQs
The very name of Kāśī is spiritually potent; remembrance of Kāśī aligns one with Śiva’s cosmic presence (aṣṭamūrti).
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), portrayed as uniquely magnetic to Śiva and thus supremely sanctifying.
Implicitly, nāma-smaraṇa (remembrance/utterance of ‘Kāśī’) is praised as spiritually efficacious.