Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54
श्रीविष्णुरुवाच । देवदेवो महादेवो नीलकंठ उमापतिः । एक एव हि पूज्योत्र सर्वकारणकारणम्
śrīviṣṇuruvāca | devadevo mahādevo nīlakaṃṭha umāpatiḥ | eka eva hi pūjyotra sarvakāraṇakāraṇam
శ్రీ విష్ణువు పలికెను—దేవదేవుడు మహాదేవుడు, నీలకంఠుడు, ఉమాపతి; ఆయనే ఇక్కడ ఏకైక పూజ్యుడు, సమస్త కారణాలకు కారణము।
Viṣṇu
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: Viṣṇu speaks with folded palms or composed authority, proclaiming Mahādeva—blue-throated, with Umā—as the sole worship-worthy lord of Kāśī; the background suggests the sanctified city and a liṅga radiating stillness.
FAQs
In Kāśī, the highest worship culminates in Mahādeva—Śiva is praised as the ultimate causal ground.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a Śaiva-uttama-kṣetra, where Śiva’s worship is declared paramount.
The prescription is doctrinal: worship (pūjā) here should be directed to Mahādeva, the supreme cause.