Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38
अवाप्य काशीं दुष्प्रापां को जहाति सचेतनः । रत्नं करस्थमुत्सृज्य कः काचं संजिघृक्षति
avāpya kāśīṃ duṣprāpāṃ ko jahāti sacetanaḥ | ratnaṃ karasthamutsṛjya kaḥ kācaṃ saṃjighṛkṣati
Đã đạt được Kāśī khó bề đắc đến, người tỉnh trí nào lại bỏ rơi? Ai nỡ vứt viên ngọc đang trong tay để rồi muốn nhặt lấy thủy tinh tầm thường?
Skanda (deduced, Kāśī-khaṇḍa norm: Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage-seeking audience within the frame dialogue (commonly sages/Śaunaka-group in Purāṇic settings)
Scene: A pilgrim stands at the Gaṅgā-ghāṭa of Kāśī holding a radiant jewel in his palm while a dull shard of glass lies discarded; behind him rise temple spires and the glow of Viśveśvara’s presence.
FAQs
Kāśī is a supreme spiritual opportunity; abandoning it for lesser goals is portrayed as choosing glass over a jewel.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is directly praised as duṣprāpā—rarely attained and of incomparable worth.
No explicit ritual; the implied counsel is to remain devoted to Kāśī and not forsake its spiritual path.