Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 24
स्वःसिंधुः सर्वतः पुण्या ब्रह्महत्यापहारिणी । काश्यां विशेषतो विष्णो यत्र चोत्तरवाहिनी
svaḥsiṃdhuḥ sarvataḥ puṇyā brahmahatyāpahāriṇī | kāśyāṃ viśeṣato viṣṇo yatra cottaravāhinī
स्वःसिन्धुर्गङ्गा सर्वतः पुण्या ब्रह्महत्यापहारिणी; काश्यां तु, हे विष्णो, यत्र सा उत्तरवाहिनी, तत्र विशेषतः पुण्यतमा।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Uttaravāhinī Gaṅgā (Kāśī)
Type: ghat
Listener: Hari/Viṣṇu (vocative)
Scene: Gaṅgā as Svarga-sindhu descending with luminous waters; a penitent pilgrim at Kāśī’s ghats; the river’s northward curve highlighted; subtle iconography of sin being washed away (darkness dissolving into light).
FAQs
Sacred geography intensifies grace: Gaṅgā is purifying everywhere, yet Kāśī’s Uttaravāhinī is proclaimed exceptionally powerful, even against the gravest sins.
Uttaravāhinī Gaṅgā in Kāśī (Varanasi).
No single rite is specified; the verse emphasizes sin-removal through the sanctity of the place (tirtha-prabhāva).