Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 46
त्वाष्ट्र उवाच । तदानंदवनं शंभोः क्वास्ति तापससत्तम । यत्र नो दुर्लभं किंचित्साधकानां त्रयीस्थितम्
tvāṣṭra uvāca | tadānaṃdavanaṃ śaṃbhoḥ kvāsti tāpasasattama | yatra no durlabhaṃ kiṃcitsādhakānāṃ trayīsthitam
త్వాష్టృడు పలికెను—హే తపస్సులలో శ్రేష్ఠుడా! శంభువుని ఆనందవనం ఎక్కడ ఉంది? వేదత్రయీ మార్గంలో స్థితులైన సాధకులకు అక్కడ ఏదీ దుర్లభం కాదు।
Tvāṣṭra
Tirtha: Ānandavana (within Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: a tapasvin addressed as ‘tāpasasattama’
Scene: A questioning Tvāṣṭra addresses a venerable tapasvin, asking the whereabouts of Śambhu’s Ānandavana—depicted as a luminous grove within Kāśī, with subtle hints of Vedic fires and ascetic life.
FAQs
Kāśī’s Ānandavana is portrayed as a uniquely potent field of sādhana where Vedic-aligned seekers find even rare attainments accessible by Śiva’s grace.
Ānandavana—Śiva’s sacred forest identified with Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa tradition.
No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes eligibility—being established in the Vedic path (trayī-sthitam) as the spiritual orientation.