Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 44
पुराविदः प्रशंसंति त्वां महामोहहारिणीम् । काशींत्विति न जानंति महामोहनभूरियम्
purāvidaḥ praśaṃsaṃti tvāṃ mahāmohahāriṇīm | kāśīṃtviti na jānaṃti mahāmohanabhūriyam
قدیم روایت کے جاننے والے تجھے عظیم فریب کو دور کرنے والی کہہ کر سراہتے ہیں؛ مگر ‘کاشی’ کے طور پر تجھے حقیقتاً نہیں جانتے—کیونکہ یہی تو عظیم فریب کی سرزمین ہے۔
Śiva (Hara), reported by Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Agastya and sages (contextual)
Scene: Two-layer allegory: sages praising Kāśī as moha-hāriṇī while, beneath, Kāśī appears as a shimmering ground of māyā—temples and ghāṭas mirrored like illusions; Śiva’s presence stabilizes the scene.
FAQs
Kāśī’s sanctity is profound and paradoxical: it dispels delusion while also being a divine, awe-inducing power-field that transcends simple labels.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a whole—its deepest metaphysical status.
None; the verse offers a metaphysical characterization rather than a ritual injunction.