Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 4
वाराणसीति काशीति रुद्रावास इति प्रभो । अवाप नामधेयानि कथमेतानि सा पुरी । आनंदकाननं रम्यमविमुक्तमनंतरम्
vārāṇasīti kāśīti rudrāvāsa iti prabho | avāpa nāmadheyāni kathametāni sā purī | ānaṃdakānanaṃ ramyamavimuktamanaṃtaram
ఓ ప్రభో, ఆ నగరానికి ‘వారణాసీ’, ‘కాశీ’, ‘రుద్రావాస’ అనే నామాలు ఎలా లభించాయి? అలాగే అది రమ్యమైన ‘ఆనందకాననం’గా, మరల ‘అవిముక్త’గా ఎలా ప్రసిద్ధి చెందింది?
Agastya (deduced; questioner addressing Skanda/Śiva-context as ‘Prabho’)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī/Avimukta/Ānandakānana)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A litany of Kāśī’s sacred names unfolds like a verbal mandala: the city between two rivers, glowing with inner light, Śiva’s abode, a blissful forest-garden, and the never-abandoned kṣetra—shown as layered vignettes around a central cityscape.
FAQs
Kāśī’s holiness is expressed through its many epithets—each name encodes a theological claim about Śiva’s presence and the city’s bliss-giving, liberating power.
The city of Kāśī/Varanasi itself—Avimukta-kṣetra—described through its sacred names.
None; the verse requests the etymic/legendary origins of Kāśī’s names.