Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5
क्षेत्रैकदेशवर्तिन्या ज्ञानवाप्याः कथां पराम् । श्रुत्वेमामिति मन्येहं गौरीहृदयनंदन
kṣetraikadeśavartinyā jñānavāpyāḥ kathāṃ parām | śrutvemāmiti manyehaṃ gaurīhṛdayanaṃdana
இந்தப் புனிதக் க்ஷேத்திரத்தின் ஒரு பகுதியில் உள்ள ‘ஞானவாபி’யின் இந்த உன்னதக் கதையை கேட்டபின், ஓ கௌரியின் இதயநந்தனே, நான் இவ்வாறே எண்ணுகிறேன்.
Agastya (deduced; addressing Skanda)
Tirtha: Jñānavāpī
Type: kund
Listener: Addressed to ‘Gaurīhṛdayānandana’ (Śiva) as vocative; broader audience includes Śikhiratha in the surrounding passage
Scene: After hearing the supreme story of Jñānavāpī, the speaker addresses ‘Gaurī-hṛdayānandana’ (Śiva) with renewed conviction; the well is envisioned as a luminous, knowledge-giving spring within Kāśī’s sacred quarter.
FAQs
Even a specific sub-region within Kāśī kṣetra can carry profound liberating significance when its māhātmya is heard.
Jñānavāpī (the ‘Well of Knowledge’) located within a part of Kāśī kṣetra.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse foregrounds hearing the kathā (māhātmya-śravaṇa).