Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 43
उवाच च मनस्येव हरः स्मित्वा पुनःपुनः । महामोहनविद्यासि काशि त्वां पर्यवैम्यहम्
uvāca ca manasyeva haraḥ smitvā punaḥpunaḥ | mahāmohanavidyāsi kāśi tvāṃ paryavaimyaham
แล้วหระ (พระศิวะ) ยิ้มซ้ำแล้วซ้ำเล่า ราวกับตรัสในพระทัยว่า: ‘โอ้ กาศี เจ้าเป็นวิทยาแห่งมหามายาอันลุ่มหลง; เราเองรู้แจ้งเจ้าโดยสิ้นเชิง’
Śiva (Hara), reported by Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Agastya and sages (contextual)
Scene: Śiva smiles repeatedly, speaking inwardly: Kāśī is the great enchantment-vidyā; He alone fully comprehends her—Kāśī shown as a radiant feminine personification hovering over the cityscape.
FAQs
Kāśī is portrayed as a uniquely potent, paradoxical sacred power—beyond ordinary understanding—known fully to Śiva.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) itself as the supreme sacred field.
None explicitly; the verse is theological, characterizing Kāśī’s spiritual potency.