Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54
यातास्वस्मासु हृष्टासु भवती शयगौरवात् । अहो रत्नेश्वरं लिंगं प्रत्यक्षीकृतवत्यसि
yātāsvasmāsu hṛṣṭāsu bhavatī śayagauravāt | aho ratneśvaraṃ liṃgaṃ pratyakṣīkṛtavatyasi
நாங்கள் மகிழ்ந்து சென்றபோது, நீ தூக்கத்தின் பாரத்தால் அங்கேயே தங்கினாய். ஆஹா! ரத்நேஸ்வர லிங்கம் உனக்கு நேரடியாக வெளிப்படச் செய்துள்ளாய்।
Friends of the maiden (within the narrative)
Tirtha: Ratneśvara
Type: kshetra
Listener: Purāṇic audience (not explicit)
Scene: Friends return delighted; the heroine, heavy with sleep, remained—yet she has made Ratneśvara liṅga manifest before her eyes; astonishment and reverence fill the space.
FAQs
True devotion culminates in pratyakṣa-anubhava—direct experience of the deity, not merely ritual formality.
Ratneśvara Liṅga in Kāśī, presented as capable of granting direct divine manifestation.
No new prescription; it highlights the fruit of worship—darśana/pratyakṣatā of Ratneśvara.