Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35
प्रसंगतोपि यन्नेत्रपथमानंदकाननम् । यातं तेत्र न जायंते नेक्षेरन्पितृकान नम्
prasaṃgatopi yannetrapathamānaṃdakānanam | yātaṃ tetra na jāyaṃte nekṣeranpitṛkāna nam
வெறும் தற்செயலாகவே ஆனந்தகானனம் கண்பாதையில் தோன்றினாலும், அவன் மீண்டும் பிறப்பு நிகழும் உலகிற்கு செல்லான்; பித்ருலோகத்தின் ‘பித்ருகானனம்’ என்பதையும் மறுபடியும் காணான்.
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Ānandakānana
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage-seeking interlocutors (ṛṣi assembly typical)
Scene: A pilgrim pauses; through an arch of sacred trees the Ānandakānana grove appears, suffused with light; subtle imagery of broken chains (saṃsāra) and a fading pitṛ-forest in the distance.
FAQs
Darśana of Kāśī’s sacred precincts is exalted as liberating—even accidental sight is said to bear mokṣa-oriented merit.
Ānandakānana, the ‘Delightful Grove’ associated with Kāśī’s sacred geography.
No explicit rite; the emphasis is on darśana—seeing the holy grove/area as spiritually efficacious.