Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21
अगस्त्य उवाच । स्वकार्यनिपुणैः स्वामिन्गीर्वाणैरतिदारुणैः । त्याजितोहं पुरीं काशीं हरो त्याक्षीत्कुतः प्रभुः
agastya uvāca | svakāryanipuṇaiḥ svāmingīrvāṇairatidāruṇaiḥ | tyājitohaṃ purīṃ kāśīṃ haro tyākṣītkutaḥ prabhuḥ
அகஸ்தியர் கூறினார்—என் ஆண்டவனே! தம் காரியத்தில் நிபுணராயினும் மிகக் கடுமையுடைய தேவர்கள் என்னை காசி நகரைத் துறக்கச் செய்தனர்; அப்படியிருக்கப் பரம்பொருளான ஹரன் அதை எவ்வாறு துறப்பான்?
Agastya
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Skanda (implied interlocutor in the surrounding dialogue)
Scene: Agastya, dignified and austere, addresses the Lord with a rhetorical challenge: he himself was compelled to leave Kāśī by the gods, but how could Hara ever leave? The scene carries debate-like intensity within devotion.
FAQs
Kāśī is presented as inseparable from Śiva’s lordship; even if humans are displaced, Śiva’s bond with the kṣetra remains supreme.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), framed as Śiva’s own city.
None; this verse begins a narrative inquiry (praśna) about Kāśī and Śiva.