Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2
कथं च देवदेवस्य प्रियत्वं समुपेयिवान् । काशीवासिजनीनोभूत्कथं वा दंडनायकः
kathaṃ ca devadevasya priyatvaṃ samupeyivān | kāśīvāsijanīnobhūtkathaṃ vā daṃḍanāyakaḥ
அவன் தேவர்களின் தேவனின் அருள்பிரியத்தை எவ்வாறு அடைந்தான்? மேலும் காசிவாசிகளிடையே பிறந்து, தண்டநாயகன்—அதிகாரமும் தண்டமும் ஏந்துபவன்—எவ்வாறு ஆனான்?
Agastya (questioning Skanda, implied by context)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Agastya (Kumbha-sambhava)
Scene: A questioning sage addresses the divine narrator about a kṣetra-protector: how he gained Śiva’s favor, became a Kāśī-resident, and attained the office of Daṇḍanāyaka.
FAQs
Divine favor and spiritual status are portrayed as attainable through dharma and the sanctifying power of connection to Kāśī.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), celebrated as a supremely meritorious sacred abode (sthāna) whose residents are specially sanctified.
No explicit rite is prescribed in this verse; it introduces an inquiry into the causes of merit, Kāśī-vāsa, and divine favor.