Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 87
मरणं मंगलं यत्र विभूतिर्यत्र भूषणम् । कौपीनं यत्र कौशेयं काशी कुत्रोपमीयते
maraṇaṃ maṃgalaṃ yatra vibhūtiryatra bhūṣaṇam | kaupīnaṃ yatra kauśeyaṃ kāśī kutropamīyate
جہاں موت بھی مبارک ہو جاتی ہے؛ جہاں وِبھوتی (بھسم) ہی زیور ہے؛ جہاں لنگوٹ بھی ریشم سا ہو—کاشی کی برابری کس جگہ سے ہو سکتی ہے؟
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue tradition, often Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta) with Maṇikarṇikā-ghāṭa ambience
Type: ghat
Scene: An ascetic figure in Kāśī with vibhūti-smeared body and simple kaupīna, standing near ghāṭa fires; the city glows as if the loincloth were silk and ash were jewelry.
FAQs
In Kāśī, renunciation and Śaiva sacredness transform even death and poverty into spiritual auspiciousness.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), upheld as incomparable among sacred places.
No direct prescription; it praises Śaiva marks (vibhūti) and the ascetic ideal as spiritually eminent in Kāśī.