Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 167
स सर्वतीर्थसुस्नातः स सर्वक्रतुदीक्षितः । स दत्तसर्वदानस्तु काशी येन निषेविता
sa sarvatīrthasusnātaḥ sa sarvakratudīkṣitaḥ | sa dattasarvadānastu kāśī yena niṣevitā
جس نے کاشی کی باقاعدہ سیوا کی، وہ گویا سب تیرتھوں میں خوب اشنان کر چکا؛ سب یگیوں کے لیے دیکشا یافتہ؛ اور ہر طرح کا دان دے چکا—یقیناً۔
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrims/seekers hearing Kāśī’s greatness
Scene: A panoramic Kāśī: pilgrims bathing at dawn, others offering lamps, some giving alms, and a central axis leading to Viśvanātha—above them, symbolic icons of many sacrifices and tīrthas dissolve into the single radiance of Kāśī.
FAQs
Serving Kāśī is portrayed as a supreme, concentrated merit that equals the fruits of many pilgrimages, sacrifices, and charities.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) itself is glorified as a preeminent tīrtha and mokṣa-kṣetra.
Not a single ritual, but a promise of fruit: resorting to Kāśī grants the merit of all tīrtha-bathing, sacrificial initiations, and all forms of dāna.