Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 4
वाराणसीति काशीति रुद्रावास इति प्रभो । अवाप नामधेयानि कथमेतानि सा पुरी । आनंदकाननं रम्यमविमुक्तमनंतरम्
vārāṇasīti kāśīti rudrāvāsa iti prabho | avāpa nāmadheyāni kathametāni sā purī | ānaṃdakānanaṃ ramyamavimuktamanaṃtaram
பிரபுவே, அந்த நகரம் ‘வாரணாசி’, ‘காசி’, ‘ருத்ராவாசம்’ என்ற பெயர்களை எவ்வாறு பெற்றது? மேலும் அது இனிய ‘ஆனந்தகானனம்’ என்றும், தொடர்ந்து ‘அவிமுக்தம்’ என்றும் எவ்வாறு சொல்லப்படுகிறது?
Agastya (deduced; questioner addressing Skanda/Śiva-context as ‘Prabho’)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī/Avimukta/Ānandakānana)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A litany of Kāśī’s sacred names unfolds like a verbal mandala: the city between two rivers, glowing with inner light, Śiva’s abode, a blissful forest-garden, and the never-abandoned kṣetra—shown as layered vignettes around a central cityscape.
FAQs
Kāśī’s holiness is expressed through its many epithets—each name encodes a theological claim about Śiva’s presence and the city’s bliss-giving, liberating power.
The city of Kāśī/Varanasi itself—Avimukta-kṣetra—described through its sacred names.
None; the verse requests the etymic/legendary origins of Kāśī’s names.