Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55
अहोभाग्योदयो नृणामहो पुण्यसमुच्छ्रयः । एकस्यैव भवेत्सिद्धिर्यदेकत्रापि तिष्ठताम्
ahobhāgyodayo nṛṇāmaho puṇyasamucchrayaḥ | ekasyaiva bhavetsiddhiryadekatrāpi tiṣṭhatām
ஆஹா, மனிதர்க்கு எத்தகைய அதிர்ஷ்ட எழுச்சி—ஆஹா, புண்ணியத்தின் எத்தகைய உயர்ந்த சேர்க்கை! ஒரே புனித இடத்தில் நிலைத்திருந்தால்கூட ஒருவருக்கேனும் சித்தி கிடைக்கும்।
Friends of the maiden (within the narrative), expressing wonder
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implied)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Purāṇic audience (not explicit)
Scene: A reflective proclamation: human fortune awakens; merit rises like a mountain; even one person attains success by remaining steadfast in one sacred place—visualized as a lone pilgrim in Kāśī with temple spires and the Ganga.
FAQs
Steadfastness at a holy center and devotion concentrated in one place can yield great puṇya and spiritual accomplishment.
Kāśī (and, in immediate context, Ratneśvara), praised as a locus where merit and siddhi arise readily.
Implied discipline of ‘staying/abiding’ (tiṣṭhatām) at the sacred place—pilgrimage-residence/steadfast attendance—rather than a specific rite.