Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 64
ततः कापिलधारं वै सुधाखनिरियं पुनः । ततः शिवगयाख्यं च ज्ञेयं तीर्थमिदं शुभम्
tataḥ kāpiladhāraṃ vai sudhākhaniriyaṃ punaḥ | tataḥ śivagayākhyaṃ ca jñeyaṃ tīrthamidaṃ śubham
அதன்பின் இது ‘காபிலதாரா’ என நிச்சயமாக அழைக்கப்படுகிறது; மீண்டும் இதுவே ‘சுதாகனி’—அமுதத்தின் சுரங்கம்—ஆகும். பின்னர் இந்த மங்கள தீர்த்தம் ‘சிவகயா’ என அறியப்பட வேண்டும்।
Skanda (deduced)
Tirtha: Kāpiladhārā / Sudhākhani / Śiva-gayā (epithets of the same tīrtha)
Type: kund
Scene: The tank’s water is depicted as luminous nectar; a stream (dhārā) pours in; devotees perform pitṛ rites with black sesame; a subtle Śiva presence sanctifies the scene, suggesting ‘Śiva-gayā’.
FAQs
The tīrtha is celebrated as both sweetly purifying (nectar-like) and especially potent for Pitṛ-related merit, like Gayā—yet situated in Śiva’s Kāśī.
An auspicious Kāśī tīrtha known as Kāpiladhārā/Sudhākhani/Śiva-gayā.
No step-by-step rite is given here; the name ‘Śiva-gayā’ strongly signals efficacy for śrāddha and Pitṛ-tarpaṇa.