Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1
अगस्त्य उवाच । सर्वज्ञ हृदयानंद स्कंदस्कंदित तारक । न तृप्तिमधिगच्छामि शृण्वन्वाराणसीकथाम्
agastya uvāca | sarvajña hṛdayānaṃda skaṃdaskaṃdita tāraka | na tṛptimadhigacchāmi śṛṇvanvārāṇasīkathām
அகஸ்தியர் கூறினார்— எல்லாம் அறிந்தவனே, இதயத்தின் ஆனந்தமே! ஸ்கந்தனால் புகழப்பட்ட தாரகனே! வாராணசியின் புனிதக் கதையை கேட்டாலும் எனக்கு நிறைவு உண்டாகவில்லை।
Agastya
Tirtha: Vārāṇasī / Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: All-knowing narrator (traditionally Sūta/Skanda-Purāṇa’s kathā-vaktā in Kāśī-khaṇḍa frame)
Scene: Sage Agastya, seated in a hermitage assembly, hands folded, eyes bright with devotion, addresses the all-knowing narrator; palm-leaf manuscripts and a small Śiva-liṅga nearby, as the ‘story of Vārāṇasī’ seems to fill the space.
FAQs
Śravaṇa (devout listening) to the glory of Kāśī is inexhaustibly nourishing and deepens devotion.
Vārāṇasī/Kāśī through its kathā (sacred narrative of the kṣetra).
The implied practice is śravaṇa—attentive listening to the māhātmya.