Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 48
प्रासादस्यास्य जटिल स्वयंकारयिता शिवः । विशेषतोऽस्यलिंगस्य नाम नो वेद्मि निश्चितम्
prāsādasyāsya jaṭila svayaṃkārayitā śivaḥ | viśeṣato'syaliṃgasya nāma no vedmi niścitam
“اے جٹادھاری! اس مندر کا خود سبب و سازندہ شیو ہی ہے—وہی اسے خودبخود ظاہر کرنے والا ہے۔ مگر اس لِنگ کا خاص نام کیا ہے، میں یقین سے نہیں جانتا۔”
King Vṛddhakāla (as quoted within Skanda’s narration)
Type: temple
Listener: Sages (frame) / aged tapasvin within episode
Scene: The king gestures to the temple and declares Śiva himself caused it to be made; the shrine appears timeless, as if emerged from the earth, while the liṅga’s specific name remains veiled.
FAQs
In Kāśī, the shrine’s sanctity is rooted in Śiva’s own power; human knowledge may be limited, but divine presence is certain.
A Kāśī liṅga-temple presented as divinely established (svayaṃkṛta/svayambhū in sense), within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting.
No direct ritual instruction; it asserts the divine authorship of the temple and sets up the forthcoming identification of the liṅga.