Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 98
विश्वेश्वरो यत्र न तत्र चित्रं धर्मार्थकामामृतरूपरूपः । स्वरूपरूपः स हि विश्वरूपस्तस्मान्न काशी सदृशी त्रिलोकी
viśveśvaro yatra na tatra citraṃ dharmārthakāmāmṛtarūparūpaḥ | svarūparūpaḥ sa hi viśvarūpastasmānna kāśī sadṛśī trilokī
यत्र विश्वेश्वरोऽस्ति तत्र न चित्रं—धर्मार्थकामाः अमृतरूपं च मोक्षदानं स्वस्वरूपेण सन्ति। स हि स्वरूपरूपो विश्वरूपः; तस्मात् त्रिलोके काश्या सदृशी न नगरी।
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context)
Tirtha: Viśveśvara-kṣetra (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages
Scene: Viśveśvara as cosmic form subtly emerging from the Kāśī liṅga: within Him appear Dharma, Artha, Kāma, and Mokṣa as luminous personifications; the cityscape of Kāśī glows as a tri-loka jewel.
FAQs
The presence of Viśveśvara (Śiva) is the theological reason Kāśī grants both worldly goods and the immortal fruit of liberation.
Kāśī, specifically the domain of Viśveśvara (the Viśveśvara/Viśvanātha shrine tradition).
No explicit ritual is stated; the verse is a doctrinal praise of Viśveśvara’s presence as the source of Kāśī’s fruits.