Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55
अहोभाग्योदयो नृणामहो पुण्यसमुच्छ्रयः । एकस्यैव भवेत्सिद्धिर्यदेकत्रापि तिष्ठताम्
ahobhāgyodayo nṛṇāmaho puṇyasamucchrayaḥ | ekasyaiva bhavetsiddhiryadekatrāpi tiṣṭhatām
آہ، انسانوں کے لیے کیسا بیدار ہونا ہے نصیب کا—آہ، نیکی کا کیسا بلند ذخیرہ! کہ اگر کوئی ایک مقدس مقام پر ثابت قدم رہے تو ایک ہی شخص بھی کامیابی پا سکتا ہے۔
Friends of the maiden (within the narrative), expressing wonder
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implied)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Purāṇic audience (not explicit)
Scene: A reflective proclamation: human fortune awakens; merit rises like a mountain; even one person attains success by remaining steadfast in one sacred place—visualized as a lone pilgrim in Kāśī with temple spires and the Ganga.
FAQs
Steadfastness at a holy center and devotion concentrated in one place can yield great puṇya and spiritual accomplishment.
Kāśī (and, in immediate context, Ratneśvara), praised as a locus where merit and siddhi arise readily.
Implied discipline of ‘staying/abiding’ (tiṣṭhatām) at the sacred place—pilgrimage-residence/steadfast attendance—rather than a specific rite.