Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 16
काशीं प्रकाशीं कृतपुण्यराशिं हा शीघ्रनाशी विसृजेन्नरः किम् । नूनं स्वनूनं सुकृतं तदीयं मदीयमेवं विवृणोति चेतः
kāśīṃ prakāśīṃ kṛtapuṇyarāśiṃ hā śīghranāśī visṛjennaraḥ kim | nūnaṃ svanūnaṃ sukṛtaṃ tadīyaṃ madīyamevaṃ vivṛṇoti cetaḥ
ไฉนมนุษย์ผู้ต้องดับสูญ—โอ้ ผู้พินาศรวดเร็ว—จึงละทิ้งกาศีอันเรืองรอง คลังแห่งกองบุญที่สั่งสม? แน่แท้จิตของตนเองประกาศว่า “บุญนั้นเป็นของเขา มิใช่ของเรา”
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: A pilgrim at the edge of Kāśī hesitates to depart; the city glows (‘prakāśī’) with ghāṭs and lamps, while an inner voice (cetas) appears as a subtle figure pointing back toward the sacred skyline.
FAQs
Because life is fleeting, one should not abandon a liberation-oriented sacred place; leaving it signals inner unworthiness or loss of merit.
Kāśī, described as radiant and merit-rich.
No explicit prescription; the teaching is ethical-existential: do not waste the rare attainment of Kāśī.