Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2
स्कंद उवाच । शृण्वगस्त्य कथां पुण्यां कथ्यमानां मयाधुना । वाराणस्येकविषयामशेषाघौघनाशिनीम्
skaṃda uvāca | śṛṇvagastya kathāṃ puṇyāṃ kathyamānāṃ mayādhunā | vārāṇasyekaviṣayāmaśeṣāghaughanāśinīm
ஸ்கந்தன் கூறினார்— அகஸ்தியரே! இப்போது நான் சொல்லும் இந்தப் புனிதக் கதையை கேளுங்கள்; இது வாராணசியை மட்டுமே பற்றியது, எல்லாப் பாவப் பெருக்கையும் அழிப்பது.
Skanda
Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Agastya
Scene: Skanda begins a luminous discourse to Agastya: the city of Vārāṇasī appears as a radiant sacred landscape—Viśvanātha’s presence implied—while dark waves symbolizing sins dissolve into light.
FAQs
Kāśī-kathā is presented as a purifying practice: attentive listening to the city’s māhātmya is itself a means of removing sin.
Vārāṇasī/Kāśī—explicitly stated as the sole focus of the account.
Śravaṇa (listening) to the sacred narrative with receptivity is implied as the practice.