Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 78
यथा सदाशिव त्वत्तो न किंचिदधिकं शिवम् । तथानंदवनादस्मात्किंचिन्मास्त्वधिकं क्वचित्
yathā sadāśiva tvatto na kiṃcidadhikaṃ śivam | tathānaṃdavanādasmātkiṃcinmāstvadhikaṃ kvacit
جس طرح، اے سداشیو، اے شیو، آپ سے بڑھ کر کچھ بھی نہیں—اسی طرح اس آنندون سے بڑھ کر کہیں بھی کوئی چیز بلند نہ ہو۔
Skanda
Tirtha: Ānandavana (within Kāśī/Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrims and traditional interlocutors of Kāśī-māhātmya
Scene: A vow-like proclamation before Sadāśiva: the sacred grove-city Ānandavana shown as a luminous mandala, with Śiva’s presence crowning it, implying ‘none higher anywhere’.
FAQs
The verse establishes a parallel: Śiva is unsurpassed, and Ānandavana (Kāśī) is likewise proclaimed unrivaled among sacred places.
Ānandavana, the sacral heart of Kāśī.
No ritual instruction; it is a superlative praise (māhātmya-stuti) of Ānandavana.