Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55
अन्यथा ताश्च योगिन्यः सरविः सपितामहः । ते गणा मां परित्यज्य कथं तिष्ठेयुरन्यतः
anyathā tāśca yoginyaḥ saraviḥ sapitāmahaḥ | te gaṇā māṃ parityajya kathaṃ tiṣṭheyuranyataḥ
Kung hindi gayon, paano magagawa ng mga yoginī na yaon—maging ng Araw at ni Pitāmaha Brahmā—at ng mga gaṇa na iyon, na iwan ako at manatili saanman pa?
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context; first-person ‘mām’)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Internal Kāśīkhaṇḍa interlocutor (contextual)
Scene: A cosmic tableau over Kāśī: Sūrya’s chariot halts in reverence, Brahmā bows, yoginīs stand in a protective circle, and gaṇas keep watch—signaling that none can abandon Shiva’s seat.
FAQs
Kāśī’s greatness is affirmed by the unwavering presence of divine powers; they do not depart from that sacred center.
Kāśī/Vārāṇasī, implied as the place from which these beings would not choose to stay away.
No explicit rite; the verse strengthens faith in Kāśī’s unique, abiding divinity.