Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 88
यथाभूमितले विप्र पुर्यः संति सहस्रशः । तथा काशी न मंतव्या क्वापि लोकोत्तरात्वियम्
yathābhūmitale vipra puryaḥ saṃti sahasraśaḥ | tathā kāśī na maṃtavyā kvāpi lokottarātviyam
ดูก่อนพราหมณ์ แม้บนพื้นพิภพจะมีนครนับพัน แต่กาศีไม่พึงนับว่าเป็นเพียงนครหนึ่งในหมู่นั้น เพราะนครนี้เป็น “โลกุตตระ” คือเหนือโลกทั้งปวงโดยแท้
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: A brāhmaṇa interlocutor
Scene: A panoramic vision of Kāśī rising beyond the mundane earth—ghāṭas, temples, and a subtle halo suggesting ‘beyond the worlds’; a brāhmaṇa listener in reverence as the narrator declares its uniqueness.
FAQs
Kāśī is not ordinary geography; it is a transcendent sacred city whose holiness surpasses worldly categories.
Kāśī/Varanasi as a lokottara (otherworldly) sacred city.
None; the verse is doctrinal praise (māhātmya) establishing Kāśī’s unique status.