Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38
आनंदकाननं प्राप्य ये निरानंदभूमिकाम् । अन्यां हृदापि वांछंति निरानंदाः सदात्र ते
ānaṃdakānanaṃ prāpya ye nirānaṃdabhūmikām | anyāṃ hṛdāpi vāṃchaṃti nirānaṃdāḥ sadātra te
ఆనందకాననం (కాశీ) చేరినప్పటికీ హృదయంలో మరొక ఆనందరహిత స్థలాన్ని కోరువారు, ఇక్కడ నిత్యము ఆనందవిహీనులై ఉంటారు।
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Ānandakānana (within Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: A pilgrim stands at the edge of Kāśī’s sacred grove (Ānandakānana), yet looks longingly toward distant lands; behind him, luminous Śiva-presence pervades the forest while shadowy ‘joyless’ landscapes beckon in the distance.
FAQs
True bliss arises from inner alignment with dharma and devotion; even in Kāśī, craving elsewhere keeps one joyless.
Ānandakānana—an epithet for Kāśī/Varanasi, praised as the abode of bliss and liberation.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the emphasis is on inner disposition—non-craving and steadfastness in Kāśī.