Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 68
स्कंद उवाच । सामस्त्येन यदर्थं न निर्गतं विष्णुना मुने । ब्रुवे तत्कारणमिति क्षणमात्रं निशामय
skaṃda uvāca | sāmastyena yadarthaṃ na nirgataṃ viṣṇunā mune | bruve tatkāraṇamiti kṣaṇamātraṃ niśāmaya
ஸ்கந்தன் கூறினான்— முனிவரே! விஷ்ணு முழுமையாக ஏன் இவ்விடத்திலிருந்து புறப்படவில்லை என்பதன் காரணத்தைச் சொல்கிறேன்; ஒரு கணம் கவனமாகக் கேளுங்கள்।
Skanda
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Muni (unnamed sage)
Scene: Skanda, as a divine teacher, turns to a listening sage and begins to reveal the hidden reason for Viṣṇu’s not fully departing from Kāśī.
FAQs
Even great deities remain linked to Kāśī due to its unique sanctity; the text prepares to reveal the sacred rationale.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the broader sacred field in which Viṣṇu’s presence is discussed.
No explicit rite is prescribed in this verse; it introduces an explanatory teaching (kathā) on Kāśī’s greatness.