Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35
योषापि न भवेदेष यतोसौ श्मश्रुलाननः । नपुंसकोपि न भवेल्लिंगमस्ययतोर्च्यते
yoṣāpi na bhavedeṣa yatosau śmaśrulānanaḥ | napuṃsakopi na bhavelliṃgamasyayatorcyate
พระองค์มิใช่สตรี เพราะพระพักตร์มีเครา และมิใช่กะเทยหรือเพศกลาง เพราะลึงคะของพระองค์เป็นที่สักการบูชา
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Viśvanātha-liṅga (Kāśī)
Type: temple
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame; not explicit)
Scene: Close view of a liṅga shrine in Kāśī: priests offer bilva leaves, water, and lamps; above, a faint anthropomorphic Śiva visage with beard appears in aura, while the liṅga remains the primary object of worship.
FAQs
Divinity cannot be reduced to human gender categories; Śiva is worshipped through the liṅga while remaining beyond ordinary classifications.
The Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s overarching sacred geography is Kāśī; this verse supports Śaiva worship central to Kāśī rather than a named tīrtha.
Implicitly references liṅga-arcana (worship of the liṅga), without detailing procedures.